Wake-up times, bed times, play times, mealtimes, nap times and awake times – sticking to a routine has its pros and cons, but I believe that it is one of the best things you can do your you and your child.

It is often difficult to gage the importance of routine in a child’s life. As a parent, we might find ourselves feeling that routine stifles a child’s freedom, and it is a tiresome task to stick to as a parent, so why do it?

If you are like me, towards the end of a long holiday period, when my family and I have been out of our routine, I begin to long for the time when work will start up again so we can all get back into it. Too much freedom over long periods of time can often lead to discipline and behaviour issues in children which will easily be resolved by instilling a good, balanced routine into your family.

Children are influential little beings that learn from their parents and others what is right and wrong and how to live. They do not have a natural sense of how to live and what is good for them. In fact, they often seem to naturally prefer what is not good for them. And so it is for us as their parents to instil good habits early on that will keep them safe, healthy and happy and form the basis for a productive, well balanced life later on.

I am sure you have heard before that children need boundaries, and that without them children will feel insecure. A set routine in a child’s life provides boundaries in behaviour that help a child to know what to do when, and what is not appropriate at certain times. Routine allows children to anticipate what is going to happen in the day so they are not totally reliant on adults to tell them what is going to happen next, and alleviates any insecurities that children might have about the future. In this way, your child will be able to mentally prepare themselves for each activity which will increase your chances of them displaying the appropriate behaviour at each time.

A good routine should tell children when to wake up and when to go to sleep, when to eat and when not to eat, when to play and when to work. Having this kind of structure in your home will immediately illuminate some of the unnecessary fights between parents and children about bed times and nap times and eating between meals and when they are allowed to play and when they need to have some time alone.

Here are some tips when instilling a routine into your home:

•  A good routine should tell children when to wake up and when to go to sleep, when to eat and when not to eat, when to play and when to work.
 
•  A routine is there to guide your family, but you do not need to feel that you need to stick to it without exception. Within the guide, you need to feel free to be flexible – especially on weekends and holidays.

•  Don’t just adopt a routine straight out a parenting book, but rather adapt one to suit the specific needs and style of your family.

•  Both parents need to be in agreement on what the routine should look like as you both need to work towards keeping it in order to have a harmonious home life.

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