How Do I Set A Daily Routine For My Child? Tips And Examples
There is a question in every parent who has a child; how do I set a daily routine for my child? They want their children to be well-disciplined, valuable people in the future.
Accordingly, parents want to manage the lives of their children systematically through a successful daily routine.
Although some parents have a clear idea of this, most of the other parents don’t have a good understanding of it. Therefore, I decided to dedicate this article to the daily routine of children.
So, how do I set a daily routine for my child? Setting a daily routine for your child is something you should do after carefully observing and understanding your kid’s requirements and the day. Letting them follow a daily routine would give your kid confidence, discipline, the feeling of security and keep them active. You may create the daily routine chart of your kid together with their help and evaluation, and carrying out necessary changes will keep the chart fresh.
Accordingly, I will discuss the importance of having a daily routine for a child, what a good daily routine should include, and how you make a daily routine for a child.
Finally, I have come up with tips for creating a daily routine for your child with practical examples. Let’s get started.
Importance of having a daily routine for your child
Before we get into the topic of how I set a daily routine for my child, it is important to know its importance. Both adults and children feel uncomfortable in uncertain and unexpected situations, and it makes them anxious.
When children’s daily activities are familiar and predictable, children feel confident just like the adults feel. Therefore it is important to give a predictable day for kids through step-by-step routines and a consistent daily schedule.
Accordingly, a systematic daily routine and a schedule at home and in the group care setting help children;
- Feeling control of their environment.
- Feeling comfortable, safe and secure.
- Getting to know what happens now and what comes next.
- Getting to know the way to do a certain task or an activity.
- Engaging in learning.
Children feel confident and gain a sense of belonging when interacting with people if they become a part of familiar routines and activities.
It is said that by engaging in ongoing child-adult interactions and predictable environments, children can improve their social and emotional skills and prevent challenging behaviors.
Therefore, parents can encourage kids to make them follow simple and clear routines and schedules. Ultimately, we can see that a daily routine is important for a child.
What should a good daily routine include?
How do I set a daily routine for my child is a common problem of parents. Three key features of a good daily routine that suits your family are as follows;
1. Well planned
A good daily routine is supposed to be a well-planned one. You must plan everything from top to bottom and should appoint specific times and roles as well.
For instance, if you have two kids, you can add a specific separate time for brushing their teeth, and you can even appoint the elder kid as the helper for the younger kid.
Further, if you have allocated time for cleaning, don’t forget to add places as well. Paying attention to all these tiny details will help you to have a very well-planned routine.
2. Regular
Daily routines must follow every day and the whole week and not take too many exceptions.
It is acceptable to miss the daily routine if there is a special family occasion or unexpected situation.
Otherwise, parents should encourage kids and allow them to follow the daily routine regularly.
3. Predictable
In a good daily routine, things must happen in the same order. Everyone should know what to expect for the day.
As an example, as you encourage your kids to do their homework or to revise the lessons at 5.00 PM every day, you and the kid know that they don’t have to worry about the school work in the following morning and could wake up at 6 am according to the schedule.
A daily routine of preschoolers and toddlers may include;
- Getting ready for the school
- Eating times
- School time
- Reading books.
- Quiet time in the evening
- Homework time
- Playtime
- Bedtime
A daily routine of a school-age child may include;
- Get ready early in the morning and go to bed at night.
- Do extracurricular activities like sports
- Household help – Ex: unpack the dishwasher, set the dinner table, care for pets or help with the laundry
- Do the homework
A daily routine of teenagers may include;
- Get ready early in the morning or have a rest after reaching home from school
- Doing the chores like cleaning the room, making the bed, and doing laundry
- Do homework
- Doing the extra activities like hobbies or sports after school
- Spend time with the family
- Relax before going to the bed
How do I set a daily routine chart for my child?
A daily routine chart is a key to creating well-disciplined children who have strong relationships with the family.
So, how do I set a daily routine for my child? You may consider the below steps before making a daily routine chart for the child.
Step 1 – Inform the kids
Your kid’s first daily routine chart can be created when they reach 4 or even a little bit before 4. Kids at this age can easily express their thoughts and feelings through words.
Therefore, it is very important to discuss with your kid and inform them that you are going to create a daily routine chart for them.
Step 2 – Plan the activities together
Secondly, you can plan the daily activities together with your kids. Ask their opinions and interests and try to add those things to the chart.
Further, explain to them the importance of each activity and let them understand the plan by themselves.
Step 3 – Design the chart together
Designing the chart together would be fun for both you and the kid. You may use the kid’s favorite colors and the pictures according to the kid’s choice.
This will make the chart interesting to the kids. Further, letting them help you to create the chart will make them feel proud of themselves.
Step 4 – Evaluate the chart
Once in a while, you may evaluate the chart with the kids. You can use this time to discuss the good things that happen after you start using a daily routine chart.
Further, this is a good time to revise the importance and the general benefits of the chart. Also, this is the time for you to identify any available defects in the chart.
Step 5 – Do the changes together
Once you identify some defects or after using the same chart for a few weeks, you can make some changes to the chart. It will keep the chart fresh and updated. This is a good method to keep the kid’s interest in the chart.
Tips for creating a daily routine for your child
A daily routine gives comfort, a sense of safety, and security.
So, how do I set a daily routine for my child? Here are some tips with practical examples to create an effective daily routine.
1. Make sure that kids are getting enough sleep
Enough sleeping time is very important for everyone. It is something very important for the physical and mental well-being of the children.
Kids grow while sleeping, and it is a well-known, scientifically proven fact.
Therefore, allocate enough time to sleep and send your kids to bed at night at the correct time. Make sure that your kid is getting enough sleep.
2. Preparing the night before
The next step is trying to reduce the number of responsibilities that all have in the morning. Accordingly,
3. Plan the meals
If you plan your daily meals in advance, it saves your time in the morning. I have seen parents and kids arguing about the food in the morning and struggling to choose something.
If you discuss this with the kid the night before, you have enough time to decide and make a healthy and balanced meal per your kids’ choice.
4. Choosing clothes
Kids love to choose their clothes, and it is very important to give them the chance to decide their outfits.
Therefore, once you create the daily routine chart, you may allocate time at night before the bed to select clothes for the following morning.
Your kid will love to see this on their daily routine chart.
5. Make the daily routine chart with pictures
It is very important to use pictures on your kids’ daily routine chart.
Kids love to see colorful pictures, and the kids who cannot read also may understand the chart by looking at the pictures.
6. Leave enough free time between the activities
Having enough free time between the activities is something very important, and it gives kids space to think.
Free thinking is very important for kids’ cognitive skills development. Therefore, don’t make a daily routine chart with a strict schedule. Keep it flexible.
7. Keep the daily routine chart simple
Always keep your kid’s daily routine chart simple. It encourages them to read and understand it by themselves.
Once you design a complex chart, it will make the kids tired, and eventually, they will refuse to check it.
Therefore, use simple words and make a chart according to a simple structure.
8. Don’t miss out anything
Don’t forget anything that needs to be done or completed on the day. It will make both you and the kid frustrated over the daily routine chart.
Eventually, both of you would lose interest in it.
By going through all these things, you can have an answer for your question; how do I set a daily routine for my child?
Final thoughts about setting a daily routine for the children
Hopefully, you may now have a clear idea about the importance of having a daily routine for a child. We have discussed many things based on; how I set a daily routine for my child with practical examples.
I think this article will effectively work out for parents who are hoping to create a daily routine for their children—feeling in control of their environment, feeling comfortable, safe, and secure, and getting to know that what happens now and comes next are some of the reasons to consider the daily routine chart as important.
You can create a successful daily routine by following the given steps. It will create your kid a systematic family atmosphere free of struggles.
Thank you for reading. Stay tuned with BestFamilyLife for more good content.
