Liza Fromer is a self-professed night hawk but also needs more than four hours sleep. So how does the newly single host of Global’s “The Morning Show” and mother of Samson, 7 and Ever, 4, keep it together? The answer: routine.
“I learned when I was doing a morning show for the Weather Network that if you’re going to do a morning show, you have to know your morning routine by rote. You do not want to have to make any major decisions at that hour. I lay out all my clothes the night before and the coffee is set. I’m up at 4, out the door at 4:40 – and I say 4:40 because everything is to the minute. Literally, my routine is so down pat that I even know when I put my deodorant on.
I’m a huge believer in routine for kids. I think it makes them feel safe; they know what to expect. I think kids crave that in a big way. It helps them make sense of their world.
I remember hearing Joan Lunden (former “Good Morning America” host) say that when she left that job she discovered that perhaps the morning kid routine that she had in her mind wasn’t exactly all it was cracked up to be. I can’t lie and say ‘gosh I’m so sad I’m missing the whole thing’ because for every parent it’s chaos. I always want to be there for my kids, but for me, I’m there for the night chaos instead.”
Originally published in ParentsCanada magazine, May 2014.
