Benefits of Our Morning Routine

Creating and establishing routines affect people's lives in positive ways. Routines help improve efficiency on one's life and aids in our daily functioning. They help us to know what to do and what to expect. Life is not just one big surprise after another. With a predictable schedule, we offer our kids structure that helps them feel safe and secure.

By building routines we are saying to our family "this is how we do things around here." Routines help to make our daily activities more controlled. This also allows us the time to focus on one task at a time, making activities more manageable.

The family experiences a decrease in stress when everyone knows what is expected of them. Let's take getting up each morning. The way to create an organized process for this is to write out a list of the step-by-step things that one must do to get ready for school or work. Your child can follow this list to understand what has to be done and in what order. Getting up to an alarm the same time each morning, which means going to bed the same time each night is a critical part of this healthy routine.

Post a "wash up" list on the bathroom mirror next to where they get ready. Some of the items on the list will be: Take shower, dry, comb and style hair, get dressed. Have clothes picked out the night before, to make dressing in the morning easier.

Have a set time for eating breakfast and offer healthy choices that you know your kids really like. After breakfast, brush teeth, get backpack that is by the door (with all necessary paperwork already placed inside the day before). To have a place by the door where packed backpacks are stored and coats and other necessary out-the-door items are kept, so that everyone can take what they need from this area and easily leave the house without forgetting important items.

What are some of the routines you've created for yourself and your family?