Parenting Matters - Routines

KEEP IT REGULAR

Ignore your alarm clock in the morning at your peril, especially on a school day. A few extra minutes of much coveted sleep can knock you for a six, affecting the entire family’s rhythm and timing. Everyone spends the rest of the day feeling slightly off-kilter, playing catch-up and never quite getting back in step until the next 24 hour cycle begins. Daily routines are much like a heartbeat, regulating the entire system and keeping it in good working order.

It’s funny how just a few minutes can make such a difference to a whole day. We love surprises (of the good kind, of course) and a bit of excitement every now and then, but most people thrive on some kind of regular rhythm and, as innocuous as it sounds, our daily routines provide this. There is a time to wake up and a time to go to sleep. There is a time to eat and a time to tidy up the mess we have made. There is a time for homework and a time to wash and do our teeth. These basics provide the framework around which we build our daily lives.

Keeping a good routine at home also helps your child adapt better to life in the classroom. Routines help create a positive and secure atmosphere in the classroom in the same way as they make children feel safe and secure at home. They help children understand the following:

This is what we do
This is when we do it.
This is how we do it.
These are your limits.
This is what is expected of you.
This is what is expected of me.

Isn’t this just the best sales pitch for developing and sticking to a good routine? What a powerful tool we hold in our hands for teaching children how to get along in life.

NIKKI BUSH
nikki@brightideasoutfit.co.za