Do you have a morning routine and a bedtime routine? How faithfully do you stick to it, especially during the summer? Do routines help your children or not?
Listen in to this episode of Q&A Thursday as I share how you can establish routines that work well for your family.
We have covered a lot of ground in this Q&A Thursday, including:
1:46 – Yes! Routines are important for children. Routines are set patterns, a sequence of actions that your children can regularly follow. While childhood should be filled with playing, exploring, learning, and creating, children still need structure in their day. Structure through routines make them feel safe. There is a certainty, an understanding, about how the day will go.
I encourage you to look over your days, with a bird’s eye view, and consider, “What part of our days feel a little out of whack?” Perhaps there are extra emotions, drama, outbursts. “Are we lacking any routine in those moments? Could we establish a routine there that would help things to go smoother?” Or do we need more communication or pre-gaming (setting expectations) to reduce the drama and the outbursts? These are great questions to evaluate.
6:17 – Let’s talk through some helpful tips for establishing routines. One of them is to be consistent so that your routines become a habit.
7:55 – Establish trigger words so that when you say the words, your children know exactly what they should do. Use a trigger word like “Rise and Shine” which means morning time routine – Go! Or “Bedtime” – Go! Say your trigger word, and then your children kick into gear, and begin to clean up toys, brush teeth, and get ready for bed.
9:55 – Our children all have different personalities. Let’s talk through each of your children’s personalities and relate that to how you can establish a routine with them.
13:20 – It’s vacation time! What do you do with your routines when you are on vacation? Is it OK to not make the bed and to go all day with bed hair? Be sure to communicate your expectations around the deviation from your normal routine.
14:43 – Remember that whatever routine you establish, you must be willing to do it every day, especially bedtime routines. Your children will come to expect it.
15:49 – Let’s talk about the best time for bedtime. When should your children go to sleep? How late should they stay up?
24:27 – How do you deal with bedtime routines when your children are close in age, but there’s a gap in their responsibilities and what they are capable of handling? What do you do if the older child is able to handle a later bedtime than the others? What do you do when your children share a room with a younger sibling and staying up would disrupt his sleep?
Now I would love to hear from you.
What routines do you already have in your home that are working?
What new routines will you establish in your home?
Important: Share your thoughts and ideas directly in the comments. Keep your comments positive, as no bad attitudes are allowed here. Nor is judgment or criticism allowed. We are here to cheer each other on in this amazing parenting journey together. Links to other posts, videos, etc. will be removed.
Your mornings and your evenings will be blessed if you work together to establish routines for your day. Have fun, and enjoy how routines help to make your days go smoother with a little less drama!
With love for your family,
Kimberly
