From the earliest days after a child is born, parents begin employing new routines to meet the needs of an infant and keep up with the daily obligations of home and work. As children grow and develop, family routines change. Research demonstrates when children follow a daily routine, they may be healthier, better behaved, and could even perform better at school.

Rules and routines create order and structure to the day. Knowing what to expect allows predictability, builds independence, and promotes emotional regulation. A consistent routine also provides comfort and a sense of safety.

How to Create a Routine with Your Child

Having foundational ‘Anchor Points,’ or a few specific things that happen every day is a good place to start when building a routine with your child.

Your child’s routine might include:

•  Set times for waking and sleeping.
• Set meal times and/or family rituals around meals.
• Maintain nap times by altering your schedule to meet that of the child’s.
• General activities between meal and sleep times.
• Unstructured time where your child can pick an activity such as reading or drawing.

How to get Routines started at home:

1. A good morning starts the night before. Often preparing bags and setting out clothes the night before can alleviate the stress of last moment changes to a morning schedule.
2. Plan routines around existing schedules. Think about the general timeline and flow of the day. Then consider what needs to occur to make these daily routines function better.
3. If you have multiple children, you may want to stagger wake-up times. If one child does not require as much support as another, you may choose to allow that child to sleep a little longer, so you may focus attention on helping the other child get ready.
4. Consider creating visual schedules. If your children are not yet reading, a visual schedule supports literacy and sequencing events by depicting each step in major routines like getting ready for the day or getting ready for bed.
5. Be flexible. Sometimes special occasions will arise when your schedule changes unexpectedly. As much as children benefit from routines, all children benefit from learning how to be flexible amid change.
6. Divide and conquer. There may be times when something you want to accomplish falls during your child’s nap or eating time. Try to schedule your shopping or errands either before or after meals and naps. Or, on the weekends, one parent stays with the children and the other takes care of the shopping and errands. You can even swap with neighbors and let them watch your children while you run an errand and then in turn you can watch their child. The other option is to take advantage of Stepping Stone School’s drop-in care.

Establishing routines and sticking to them allows children and caregivers to work together knowing what is expected and what must occur to be successful each day.