Everything your child does is a learning experience. They live in a world where they constantly try new things and learn from the results. The more structure there is to their environment, in other words, the more consistent and predictable you make things, the faster they learn. One way to create structure and consistency is to establish routines.
Regular routines help children feel safe. Routines also help create a calmer household. When your child knows what to expect throughout the day, they will feel more confident and be more in control of their emotions and behavior.
It is important for parents to create a regular schedule for when it’s time to sleep, eat, and play. Additional structure can be added for things you do to transition from one activity to the next. In the book Kalvin and Kaiser’s Very Busy Day, the puppies know their daily routine and that 7pm means time to get ready for bed.
Of course, no one’s life runs on an exact, regular, repeated routine. Actually, that would be a bit boring. So, when there are changes to your established routine, you should always let your child know ahead of time, but not so far ahead that they forget. Maybe you will be going to a restaurant instead of eating at home. Maybe the weather is not cooperating, so instead of going to the park you are going to the library to pick out some new books. Whatever the change let your child know before it happens. This should help with any power struggles your child might have. While structured routines foster healthy habits, learning how to best cope with changes to the structure is a skill which will follow your child into adulthood.
At my preschool we establish a general daily schedule at the start of the year. Then each morning we start our class with a review of the day’s routine. During this time, we talk about our daily schedule of activities. We let the children know about anything that will be different from the normal schedule for that day. Very quickly, within the first week or two, the children learn that their first activity is to get into centers to do their work. Next comes a story, then bathrooms followed by a snack. The last set of activities includes some time for play, another story, perhaps some music, and then preparing to go home. Getting the children into a routine can be a challenge. But, once they learn the routine, much more time can be spent on learning activities than on keeping order. And once they have the routine down, then they can quickly learn to adapt to changes to their schedule.
If you want to learn more about creating structure and routines, one of my favorite resources is the CDC Essentials for Parenting Toddlers – Creating Structure.
