Maintaining routines provides families with a good foundation when schedules start getting busier, ensuring kids can build healthy habits.
As an independent school in Devon, we provide all age groups with a sense of structure, supporting their personal and academic development. Ultimately, establishing a consistent routine has numerous benefits for children both in and out of term time.
1. Anchors Your Children’s Day
For a child growing up, every day is different, filled with various challenges and obstacles they haven’t met before. These could be mental, physical, emotional or environmental changes, all prompting a different response. Being confronted with so many things can easily become overwhelming.
However, having a consistent routine at home provides points of familiarity, giving children something to fall back on when the rest of their day has been filled with new adventures or hurdles.
2. Provides Security & Safety
Routines also give children and parents an increased sense of security. Adhering to the same weekly routines means everyone knows what to expect and each member of the family is kept accounted for. This allows everyone to feel in control.
3. Prevents Emotional Outbursts
When children are faced with something unexpected, emotional outbursts are often not too far on the horizon. With an ever-changing schedule, it is more likely for these emotions to surface, especially for children who struggle to understand or cope with change.
A regular routine helps limit these instances.
4. Establishes Healthy Habits
A consistent routine encourages your child to develop healthy habits. If you set expectations and various tasks that they should complete each day, these start to become second nature, which means less nagging on the parents’ part!
Building good habits into the daily family routine reinforces them from an early age, making them more likely to be carried into later life. For example, building positive habits around sleep schedules, eating a balanced diet and doing homework will be invaluable as children progress through school.
5. Builds Positive Eating Behaviours
Along with understanding the benefits of a balanced diet, building good routines around the mealtime experience can be really helpful for children.
Having set meal times allows them to develop regular patterns of appetite and promotes proper nutrition and a balanced lifestyle. If possible, eat meals as a family to build regular quality time into busy schedules.
6. Encourages Communication
Dedicating allocated time towards your child’s routine allows them to feel settled and secure. This continues to positively impact their communication and confidence in expressing ideas and emotions.
Instead of lashing out, they know there will be an opportunity to discuss their feelings and emotions every day. Whether it be at dinner time, or before bed, knowing this quality time is available encourages them to consider how they are feeling and the best way to express this.
7. Supports the Ability to Adapt
Despite your best efforts, external factors can affect even meticulously-planned routines. However, when this does happen, children who have been in a consistent routine have more tools to navigate potentially stressful scenarios.
With this good foundation, they are more likely to be able to adapt to challenges or changes, finding increased independence.
8. Teaches Patience
When children get into a routine with their day, and become comfortable with the times of play, dinner, bedtime or any other activities, they have opportunities to practise patience.
If they know how the structure of their day is going to play out, they understand they will have to patiently wait for certain things to unfold.
9. Strengthens Time Management Skills
Routines can also encourage children to appreciate how long tasks take, supporting a keener sense of personal responsibility and time management as they get older. By following a set routine with the support of the rest of the family, children start learning to manage their own time.
Whether it’s when the kids are getting ready in the morning, helping with weekend chores, doing after-school activities and homework or winding down for the evening, there are lots of instances where families can develop set routines to make the chaos of family life a little more serene.
Take a look at our tips below to kick-start your morning routine.
