Routines make life with children immeasurably easier. If the routines take into account the child’s developmental level as well as his natural rhythms and requirements for sleeping, eating, and being active, they allow the child to be successful in these arenas a great deal of the time. And, they virtually eliminate the need for nagging (which doesn’t actually work very well anyway).
The younger the child, the more he will thrive on routines. The Prudent Parent knows that in general, children who grow up with predictable routines are better able to enjoy new experiences. This can manifest itself in a willingness to try new foods and to go on trips to new places as well as to embrace a variety of different activities.
Create routines and rituals surrounding everyday events such as bedtime, bath time, dinner time, and homework time. It is important to note that children do not adapt to change as readily as adults do, particularly “difficult” or “slow-to-warm-up” children. But, children are usually more cooperative when events are predictable (“First we do this, then we do that. Finally, we do this.”). So, try to minimize the number of changes in your child's daily life, and prepare children in advance for transitions (“In five minutes, we’ll get washed up for dinner.” “Before we can have snack, we need to pick up the toys.”).
Start to develop routines by the time the child is around 3 months of age. The first routine is the bedtime routine.
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