Ways to Establish a Successful Family Routine

In this article we present different ways on how to establish a successful family routine.

Families organize themselves by creating routines. This helps them accomplish things, finish tasks, spend time with each other and together and have a blast. Every family has their own special routines and these routines help family members know who is in charge of what chores, frequency, and order. Some families have daily routines for school, work, baths, bedtime, meals, and hugs. Some families create weekly routines for housework and additional routines for holidays and family events.

Family life is often easier with a few routines as possible, but there is really more to routines than just the word routine. Routines also educate your children and help them understand what is important. Sometimes families call routines, rituals and this help make the bonds grow stronger with the beliefs you share and value. Routines foster a sense of belonging and being part of a family.

It’s also important to maintain daily routines to make it easier on kids when they are coping with stress in their lives. Stressful events occur daily in many families around the world including the birth of a sibling, death, divorce, illness or a big move to a new geographical location. Most kids need routines more than others and there are many good qualities for creating a family routine.

A sense of safety and belonging

When your home is organized and routines are predictable, kids and teens feel safe, secure and cared for. This is important especially during times of stress of adolescent development like hormone changes.

Families love to have fun and spend time together so they create a routine for a stronger family relationship. They go on picnics, camping, maybe a simple walk, look at butterflies, identify birds and even something as simple as reading a book with some snacks. In addition, the family can also sit down together and have a movie night with some popcorn and a healthy beverage. These activities all foster growth and a sense of belonging.

Responsibility and skills

It’s important to have family routines that teach responsibility and skills to kids and teens. This routine helps them learn how to manage their time and some of these skills like helping dad with basic car care and carpentry, learning about tools can be used by your kids for life. In addition, mom can teach kids and teens how to do laundry, mop, clean cupboards, put groceries away, plan a list of groceries and general cleaning so these skills are carried over for life. The time will come when your kids will manage these skills and responsibilities with less help from you and they are on their way to independence.

Healthy habits

There are also healthy habits to teach your kids starting at a young age. You teach them how to brush their teeth, comb and brush their hair, help them take their medicine if need be on a regular basis, teach them about exercise by going to the park and washing hands after going to the bathroom. Bathing and hair washing is important, clean jammies, clean sheets and clean under clothing.

In general, routines are good for kids health because a simple task like hand washing can help kids not get sick and these kinds of routines lower stress and adjust their natural internal clocks. Your kid’s bodies know when it’s time to eat, sleep and this is important for kids when they reach the teenage years because that’s when they really need the extra sleep.

Be careful not to over schedule too much into family life. Although routines have lots of good benefits, it’s also good for families to have more time together to enjoy time with each other.

Why Routines are good for adults?

Routines can take some time to build but they do offer many benefits for adults as well as children. They help people get through our day and organization creates more time for things we like to do. Routines that are regular and consistent help you feel organized and make you feel good as a parent. Life can get really busy at times so routines help parents feel organized and masters of their own universe, which helps the stress factor. Routines can offer you more free time from having to make decisions because if Saturday night is Spaghetti night, there is no arguing about what’s on the menu for dinner.

If you get to the point and think you don’t have enough time to spend with your kids, you could revise your routine schedule and get the kids more involved. You could always include the activities you find you don’t have time to go into your family routine.

How do you come up with a good daily routine?

There are really no special rules about the types of routines families should have because every family is different and so are their interests and the ages of all involved. What works well for some families, doesn’t always work well for other families. Create your routines for the individual needs of your family and remember an effective routine has to be:

Well Planned:

Where everyone understands what their job is and understand what they have to do, and feel that their jobs are equal and fair.

Regular:  

Because good routines are part of families everyday life. An example of this might be that every weekend you drive with your family up to the north woods to grandma and grandpa’s farm and help with chores, have barbecues, good to church and the aunts and uncles come along with their families as well.

Be Predictable

Because a good routine happens exactly the same way and in the same order every time the family starts the routine. An example is washing on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Ironing some items on Fridays. Packing lunches at a certain time every evening. Actually, if you become a stay at home mom before your first child is born, that is where you should start establishing your routines. Your husband might travel so you start by putting the baby in a routine, exercise and take the baby out daily in their buggy or stroller, and build on these routines as you have more children. If you start as a young mother, routines only get easier. Many mothers have stated that they are better organized when they work versus when they are staying at home moms. Carry over some of those routines you were taught when you were young and a teen and it’s not really that difficult. Allow for extra time in case there is a blip that happens but it’s really easy to create a routine naturally and carry it through. You don’t have to pound your head against the walls coming up with new ideas all the time. Once you get into the habit of having a clean house, set up a routine for floors, rugs, windows etc.. This is very easy if you keep it up daily and don’t get behind because then you don’t become overwhelmed.