How do I start a rountine and stay on a routine?

Question

My son is almost 2 years old and I can see a major difference between him at daycare and him at home and it is because he has a routine at school. I have tried to start a routine for nights at home but I can't seem to follow it. Does anyone have any helpful advice that has helped them? Also, what do I do on nights when we go visit grandmothers how do I work that into the schedule without disrupting the routine?

Answer 1

The easiest way to start on a routine is to write it down. If you have a visual that you can look at and check back with, it makes it much easier to stick with it. Also, ask your child's preschool teacher... teachers have to have schedules to make sure that things go smoothly in a class of 12 kids. Make your weekend schedule flexible... there is a general schedule of what you need to do, but the actual time frames are flexible. Say, on Saturdays, you get up at nearly the same time, have breakfast, take a short morning walk around the block (outside time is very important to toddlers), come back and have snack, and go to the grocery store, have lunch, take a nap, get up and have a snack, go play outside for a while, come in and play for a while or do a craft, get washed up for dinner, eat, take a bath, read a story, go to bed. During times when the schedule is going to be different, such as going to grandma's, try to keep the routine as close as possible as at home. Do things at around the same time, keep special items for napping (such as blankies and favorite stuffed animals) with you. If you keep the general schedule the same, the setting won't matter much. Same thing goes if you go to an amusement park- try to keep as much of the routine as possible- even taking time out for naps. Toddlers rely very much on routine... it helps to ground them. Sameness is comforting to them, and provides a sense of safety. I know it is easy when you have a completely unscheduled day to just let it flow, but while that is easy for us adults, it is discomforting to children.

Answer 2

That's a tough one. I used to have a time schedule routine but that became bothersome because things would come up that would conflict with the routine. Like when friends want you to go out or I'd have a sick kid on my hands.

My advice would be to have a general outline for the day. Don't go crazy trying to time everything perfectly, it's not going to work in the long-run. Having meals and going to bed around the same time is a good way to get a routine started. Then fill the time gaps with cleaning, jogging, family time. Whatever you do.

Answer 3

It's hard to suggest a routine when I don't really know your schedule, but I'll give it my best shot here.

Pick out certain things and make sure you do them everyday at the same time. For example dinner would be everyday at 6:30 (or whenever). After dinner it's play time. After play time, bathtime. After bathtime, it's time for pajamas and a story and then time for bed. Not everything has to be in the routine, just the major things that the day is scheduled around.

As for visiting grandma, just remember that not going with the routine once or twice isn't going to disrupt it. You'll go crazy if every little thing you do is pertaining to the routine. Visiting grandma every once in awhile won't throw the entire schedule off track so don't worry. Anyway, good luck and God bless :-)

Answer 4

Although it's a little late to start trying to follow a routine, it's never too late. Your routine should be easy to follow and should encompass how you feel about certain situations. When I say that, I mean you need to decide before hand how you'll react to things like how your son is going to react. After a child has gone to bed at my house, he does'nt get out without a really good reason. I always have them go to the bathroom just before bed, and they get a little drink, so there should not be anything they get out for. If your son cried everynight for a little while after going to bed, would you be rushing in or would you let him cry it out? If you'd rush to see him everynight it will be very hard for you to establish a routine because he'll often do things to throw the routine off. I'm going to assume you mean a "getting ready for bed" routine, and I'll tell you what worked for my family. About an hour before bed, our nightly routine started. We'd go upstairs and start by getting pj's on and teeth brushed, and every second night I'd give them a bath. When they were too young to sit still for a story, we'd sti in the darkened room and rock in the rocking chair. Once they were old enough we'd sit on the bed and read a bedtime story. After a small glass of water and kisses from the rest of the family, it was bedtime. A routine isn't just about times, it's about doing similar things every night. You add visits to Grandmas by doing your routine when you get home but exceptions do need to be made also. If you're at Grandmas really late, it'll probably be enough to just do the teeth and PJ's routine, but if you're super late don't worry about any of the routines; chances are your son will be asleep in minutes anyway. Try to come up with mini-routines. For instance, with both my boys you had to say goodnight the same way every night. I'd say "goodnight, sleep tight, don't let the bedbugs bite." They'd always ask"what do We do I if they bite me?" My answer every night is bite them back then I turn off the lite and close the door. Even at ages 10 and 8 they both still have me say this every night . Good luck and best wishes.

Answer 5

that is easy you put a routine together for night time,and stick to it.your son being only 2 should do what you tell him to do.the first week may be rocky but you got to stick with it and have patience,and make sure your word is law!more importantly any running around you have to do do it before his night time routine kicks in.so it also requires some sacrifice on your part as well.

Answer 6

just list down things that he does on a day to day basis. then make a schedule and be sure to follow the schedule everyday consistently until you establish a routine. it won't be a routine if you don't do it consistently =)

Answer 7

It's not hard...you first need to look at your schedule...what time you get home from school / work...etc and go from there. This is what we do...

I get home from work, right about 5ish and usually relax for a moment. My hubby picks up our boys (foster kids) and they usually get home around 6ish...if one isn't on a visit that night we usually have dinner around 6, then it's pretty much free play till about 7...we take baths, brush their teeth, give meds or whatever is going on and at 8 they go to bed...they get 5 minutes of tv, before going to sleep...hugs and kisses, lights out...that's it.

Morning - I get up first and get ready for work, pull out clothes for the boys and wake them up telling them to get dressed...feed the dogs and then drop my daughter off at school...hubby brings them to day care and then we start all over again.

A routine is just that...a routine, it's some guidlines that you follow for a particular type of day...work / home / school...etc. Going out for an evening to visit grandma isn't going to ruin this...your life can't go "per your routine" every single day...it's impossible and it will drive you crazy. I am actually trying to teach our routine to one of the foster kids Mom...telling her that it's not exact...they don't always go to bed at 8...sometimes earlier sometimes later...

Good luck

Answer 8

Let me know how you do so I can do it too! It all seems to work great in theory, but our family is too busy and chaotic to follow the same schedule every day. I wish I had that sense of order to things, but they how do you handle the extra hours at work and sports and family parties and all the things that come up spontaneously?

Answer 9

the only advise is to really stick to it and dont cave in. my son is 4 and still doesnt really have a great night routine because i keep putting things off or dont stick to them. i wish back when he was younger i had more willpower because ive built a rod for my own back.