Why Children Need Routine

Routine is one of the most important and beneficial items that you can help provide for a child. This allows them to learn positive and age appropriate behavior skills to work through life in a manner that helps them become successful. They can build this through having positive organization and allows them to obtain rewards that foster creating positive relationships and behavioral skills.

Below are more specific examples of the positive effects of a routine for your child. Implementing these processes as soon as possible allows for children to start to understand the manner in which they can be successful in each endeavor they choose and how to better equip themselves for success. 

Importance of Routine for Children

• Allows them to build self regulation techniques
• When children learn how to regulate themselves, they are capable of being able to regulate their behaviors and work through them as opposed to becoming reactive.
• They learn how to manage negative behaviors and work through them in positive manners
• Helps them to know and understand what to expect

While routines are important, creating routines that are attainable and able to be completed are equally as important. Routines help create positive, daily habits that promote self-care and self- awareness. There are many ways to start creating positive and easy routines. 

How to create a positive and easy routine

• Set wake and bed times that are appropriate for their ages and needs
• Set blocks of time for when children are expected to complete tasks and have rewards
  • Chore Time
  • Reading/Homework time
  • Resting time
  • Morning and School prep time
  • Bedtime and hygiene prep time 
  • Reward/positive outcome time
• Maintain each block of time each day and modify for breaks from school and vacation times

Now that you know how to create a positive and easy routine, you need to know when to implement them. If you implement a routine that is not attainable or age appropriate for your specific child, their goals are unlikely to be achieved and they will not see positive outcomes, resulting in positive rewards.Therefore, starting a routine at birth can set your child up for success early on in their life. 

When a routine should be started with children and the benefits of a routine

• Children should have routine from the start of birth
• Allows children to have positive and age appropriate expectations
• Sets children up for the opportunity to learn positive outcomes based on positive choices
• Allows children to know what to do and how to complete the tasks
• This sets children up for the opportunity to be successful in school and extracurricular activities
• Allows children to set and learn how to schedule this tasks to be successful as they grow older

Having a positive and easy routine for your children will promote a healthy, balanced lifestyle, presently and in the future. There are different ways to effectively implement different routines, however, you have to learn what works best for you and your child. Try beginning your child’s routine at birth so they are able to learn and practice these skills, moving along throughout their childhood to allow them to develop and practice the skills that create positive building blocks for their future. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me at r.snyder@life-connections.org.

Renée M. Snyder

Director of Behavioral Health 

Because Life is All About Connections

Life Connections provides in-home Behavioral Health Intervention services, Therapy services, autism (ABA) services and Children’s Mental Health waiver services in our 13 office locations and approved schools across Iowa. Life Connections was founded in March of 2009 with the intent to serve the children and families of Cedar Rapids and surrounding cities.

Life Connections is a highly professional and caring counseling and behavioral health provider. We offer a wide array of services to treat mental health issues including Applied Behavior Analysis Services,  Behavioral Health Intervention Services, mental health therapy, school-based therapy programs, and substance use treatment. For more information, please call 319-409-6922. 

Resources:

• National Suicide Prevention Hotline 800-273-8255

• Crisis Text line text to 741741
• The Trevor Project – for LGBTQ+ young adult community 866-488-7386

• Rape, Abuse, and Incest National Network 800-656-4673