How much routine should we have in our family on school days? I don’t want every minute of the day to be organized for our children.
— For Some Routine
There are no hard and fast rules about how much routine children should have during the school year. Routines should reflect each child’s personality and needs. For example, a child with ADHD will definitely profit from quite a bit of structure while one who seems to have a built-in organizer can function with far fewer routines.
There is a need to have some routines in every home just to make things function smoothly. This should include a morning routine that will have a time for getting up and dressed, eating, and for leaving the home with everything needed for school. Most homes also have homework and bedtime routines to give a sameness to every day. No routine should cover every minute of the day. Free time needs to be part of every routine.
Basic routines need to be written out and displayed. Pictures can be used for young children. But there is another thing about routines — they need to be flexible. They will change as activities are added or eliminated. When routines are disrupted by outside events, such as a traffic jam, dinner, or homework projects, they can be adjusted.
To help some children follow routines, especially early morning ones, a kitchen timer can be used to show when a particular activity should begin or end. Rewards can also be used if they are an effective tool in encouraging children to follow routines.
Finally, if a routine doesn’t seem to be working, change it. And the older your children get, the more input you should get from them.
Parents should send questions and comments to dearteacher@dearteacher.com
or to the Dear Teacher website.
©Compass Syndicate Corporation, 2020