I have always had an affinity for routines and schedules. As a child, I would ask my mom to write schedules for me including any chores or homework I had to do. I remember how invigorating that feeling was; having a plan to get everything done, and knowing each step to take. I would grip that little paper schedule in my hand all day long.
Fast forward to today and I know that as an adult, routines can be one of the most important aspects in organizing your day. Now that I have children, I recognize how much they also love the security and structure of routines.
John Rosemond states in his book, Parenting by the Book,
“The first way to implement discipline in a family is through routines, very predictable routines. The more structure you bring to the life of the toddler through the establishment of routines, the more you prepare this child for the acceptance of other boundaries, because routines are really temporal boundaries of a sort. “
Morning and evening routines are common for school aged children but I have found benefits with my younger children. My daughters have simple morning and evening routines we’ve followed for over a year now (I started constantly incorporating routines when my youngest was 2 but I wish I would have started earlier).
Especially at a young age, creating something visual that your child can follow is key.
Jen from the knock-my-socks-off adorable blog, IHeart Organizing, made this Morning and a Bedtime Routine printables.
Based on Jen’s inspiration, I updated our own routines (you can download IHeart Organizing’s version for free but I wanted to make it our own). I quickly typed out our morning and evening routines, added some clip art and hung it up, each in a plastic sleeve.
Click here to view and download Morning Routine or Bedtime Routine.
Often we use a white board marker to check off each step. You are welcome to use or edit for your own needs.
Amy from Living Locurto, has designed adorable flashcards for routines. These are perfect for little ones and they are free too!
If you need some more ideas about coming up with routines for your children or yourself here are 5 steps to create your own routines.
Do you have structured routines for your kids? What do you include as part of your routine? Anyone else have a healthy obsession with schedules as a child? Aren’t those routine flashcards freakin’ adorable?
