Establishing routines can help strengthen family bonds

While many people are focused on making New Year’s resolutions, pediatricians say this is a great time to instead create family routines.

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Routines help keep family life organized and when simple and consistent can greatly benefit children.

Importance of routines

Pediatrician Dr. Pilar Bradshaw with Eugene Pediatric Associates says, just like adults, children feel more confident and secure when their daily activities are predictable and familiar. “Kids actually have been shown to mentally and physically benefit when we as parents help establish routines for them from a young age,” she says.

Routines help to organize life and keep it from becoming too chaotic. The American Academy of Pediatrics says it’s helpful to have different expected routines for different times of day.

Morning routine

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“Probably the most important routine for the success of everybody’s day is the morning routine,” Dr. Bradshaw says.

To help mornings go more smoothly, put as many things in order as possible the night before, like preparing school lunches.

Encourage your child to eat breakfast, even if they’re not hungry.

And to help avoid last-minute arguments, offer kids a choice when possible—such as which coat would you like to wear: the green one or the blue one?

Also, taking a moment to say goodbye to your child as they head to school will give your child a good start to their day. “Give them a hug or a high five or some positive idea for the day like ‘Learn one new thing,’ ‘I can’t wait to see you after school’—something that will send them off on a good foot,” Dr. Bradshaw says.

After school

Healthy after-school routines may include a snack, playtime and studying, in whatever order works best for your child. Active play helps children dispel their energy and prepare for a calm evening.

Evenings

Try to eat dinner together as a family as often as possible—no electronic devices allowed. Eating together will give you and your kids time to connect. Encourage everyone to take part in the discussion and talk about the day while avoiding negative comments or criticism.

Bedtime

On school nights, aim for a regular bedtime for your kids. Rituals can prepare your children and help ease them to sleep. These can include storytelling, reading aloud, conversation and songs. Try to avoid exciting play and activities before bedtime.

“A really simple bedtime routine would be to turn off all of our screens two hours before bed, then spend that time with your child, reading a book, listening to some soft music, having your little snuggle time and then getting them in bed,” Dr. Bradshaw says.

Keep it simple

The key to creating successful routines for your family, Dr. Bradshaw says, is to keep it simple with some degree of flexibility.

“Routines are most successful if it’s something that involves multiple family members and it has flexibility,” she says. “Something that’s short enough that everybody looks forward to it. Everybody knows what’s going to happen, but it’s something that isn’t a huge burden on just one parent.”