The benefits of a routine

“Billy, please hurry up! I have already asked you three times to come and have breakfast.... Billy did you make your bed and put your pyjamas away? Billy, please stop dawdling we are going to be late for school again! Have you put your lunch in your bag? Come on Billy, where is your school bag? I asked you to put it at the front door 10 minutes ago!”

Does this sound familiar? Can you relate to any part of that? For children the process of getting ready is actually quiet involved. Have you ever tried to break down all the steps necessary that need to be completed to get ready for a school day and out of the door into the car on time so that your children are not late for school?

Routine can help alleviate some of the morning struggles. By simply setting up a routine for your child of all the steps that are needed to get up and out the door you are giving your children some really important life skills too! A routine chart does not need to be an elaborate fancy thing it could simple be a list of to-dos, but if you have a child who can read it would be more beneficial to have a list of picture to-dos.

By organising a routine for your children to get ready for the day you are giving them the gift of responsibility, time management and organisational skills. You are also reducing the need for nagging! While we don’t promise that no nagging will occur, a getting ready for the school day routine will definitely reduce the need and also help you to stay positive and add a bit of fun to teaching your child the important skills in getting ready all by themselves! Imagine this scenario...

“Billy, where are you up to in getting ready?” “well mum, I have brushed my teeth, washed my face and put my sunscreen on.... I am not sure what is next but I will go and check the fridge”. It sounds a bit unrealistic doesn’t it? The reality is that it isn’t.

Parents already have a to-do list in their minds of what is involved in getting ready. When telling your child to ‘go and get ready’ that can seem like a huge and daunting task. If you can break it down into areas like what need to be done in your room, what needs to be done in the bathroom and what needs to be done in the kitchen you will pretty soon be able to identify all the steps involved that your child needs to complete to ‘get ready for the day’.