I'm not naturally a routine person. I would rather just see what happens and play it by ear. But when I started teaching, the reality of children and routines smacked me in the face! Children function better with predictability and routine. And why wouldn't they? They don't have the life experience to help them anticipate what's next.
Routines also are a huge help to discipline. Why? Well, I'm glad you asked. As a parent, one of my goals is to raise self-controlled and self-disciplined children. I don't want to follow my children around, reminding them to brush their teeth and follow directions for the next 20 years; I want to teach them to do it themselves. Giving kids practice making their own decisions in small ways breeds a healthy self-respect. Children begin to realize they can accomplish tasks for themselves. Which is the kind of independence they'll need when they leave my house!
Routines also leave room for you to make important decisions. The mundane, yet necessary tasks have been decided when I established routines in advance. I can talk with one child about the day while the other is working on their next step of the routine. It's a lot easier to have an important conversation when you're not bickering in the morning over what clothes to wear.
Writing down and posting routines is huge part of using routines. When we write down routines, goals, lists, the space in our mind is freed to be creative and go on to the next step. Posting routines is the visual reminder of what we do everyday. Children need that cue: "This is what's normal for me today."
I recently made up some new routines for the new school year. I am by no means artistic or a decorator, but I'm really happy these are finished and usable! I know they can be cuter, but these have the lovely quality of being completed.
For my preschooler, I made a flip chart routine that I put the routine into an inexpensive photo brag book from Target. Here a few pages from her routine.
Sabrina is awesome about grabbing her routine chart and going through it morning and night.
For my boys I've posted it in their room. I still need to put it in a frame behind glass to use it as a dry erase check list.
I also made a list of what goes into their bags for soccer and dance. When I was telling my first grader what to put in his dance bag, he politely said, "Mom, you don't have to tell me. I'll just follow my list." Mmm, smart kid!
Our family is so much more peaceful when we post our routines. There is so much less nagging and the responsibility falls to the child. I can just ask, "What's next on your routine?" rather than repeat directions.
Even though my natural bent is different, I've seen the great benefit of routines in our family!
