Summary: Routine One thing that a lot of parents don’t realize is that kids flourish in routine. Of course it may be fun to stay up late, sleep in late and do whatever you want but most kids actually prefer a routine day in and day out. A routine makes everyone feel comfortable and secure because it alleviates chaos. Another area to process as you gear up for this school year is what does your family routine look like? We’ve discussed in the past how important sitting down as a family for dinner is, but what about breakfast? Even if it is only 15 or 20 minutes extra it is well worth it. Studies have shown us how important a good breakfast is for fueling your body, it is even important for proper weight management. It also creates a calming atmosphere before everyone runs out in different directions. You can even take the time at breakfast to read a quick family devotional to start everyone’s focus out right. Routine does several other things for the family as well, such as allowing for self-discipline. As your children get older part of their routine can be getting up at a certain time. Allowing your child to wake up by an alarm is a great way to train in self-discipline. It also saves the parent from frustration and possibly screaming matches over your child getting out of bed. That definitely doesn’t help everyone start the day in a good mood. Another thing routine does is it helps the parent get out in front of possible issues rather then waiting for those issues to arrive. Homework is a great example of this. If a time for homework is set into the routine everyday then a parent can see not only if the homework is getting done but also be available to help if the child is struggling. This doesn’t leave interim reports to be the wake up call for the family to scramble to work on grades. Make sure to set aside sometime to come up with a routine that works for your family during this “preseasonâ€.  Listen to today’s podcast for more insight on this topic.
