The alarm goes off every morning and rush begins.  Shower, brush teeth, get the little one dressed and get downstairs for breakfast.  We are all creatures of habit.  While for some this may not like being so specific with their routine, for children it is of the upmost importance.

The wife and I have always been about our routines.  We always underestimated the importance of routines in the lives of our children.  Our daughter is all about her routines.  Should one aspect of her little 3 year old life become off-kilter it all goes to shit and she is no longer a happy camper.

According to Dr. Laura Markham at Aha! Parenting, children need routines because it provides them with a sense of security and helps them develop self-discipline.  Children become very content in their routines and any deviation from the routine is cause for alarm.  We notice this in when we move them to a new house, new daycare, or even take a different route home.  From the beginning children start out on a routine.  We give them defined feeding and nap times.  Any deviations from these tasks can cause some alarm to their little systems.

Carmen is interesting because she likes what she likes.  If we try a new restaurant or recipe, we have to ease her into it.  New clothes and shoes provide challenges as well.  My little brother got her some Air Jordans.  It has been quite the task to get her to put them on in the morning.  This girl was all about her “cool boots” for about a year, so any change from her boots is amazingly difficult.  She insists on everything being pink.  She prefers waffles for breakfast.  She likes very specific cartoons.  She almost refuses to venture beyond any of those.  Such is the life of a 3 year old and such are the hassles of being a parent.

The importance of schedules

How quickly can a toddler become cranky when he or she is tired or hungry?  We feel fortunate now that Carmen can express her feelings into words, but when she was 1 into the early 2′s it was a different story.  She would have meltdowns and it wasn’t until we glanced at the clock and did some quick parental math that we would realize we pushed her too far past her nap or lunch time.

Keeping a schedule provides that sense of security we talked about earlier.  The child will be more confident in knowing what lies ahead for his or her day and knows that his or her needs will be taken care of at the appropriate time.  Imagine if you knew specifically what was in store for your work day and the peace and serenity you would feel in your soul.  This is the same idea and it is your job to try to provide that peace, serenity and sense of security for your child.

Keeping schedules also helps moms and dads get through their days.  As long as you know you are meeting your child’s needs, you know that your day will go by pretty uneventfully.  Less meltdowns mean happier parents and happy parents mean happy kids.  If you just finished up dinner and you feel worn out from the day, you can take solace in that bath and bedtime are just around the corner.

Repetition, repetition, repetition

Through repetition children learn.  Giving your child tasks such as helping clean up their toys helps set them up for later in life.  It gives them a sense of responsibility.  Children love having responsibilities.  It makes them feel valued and important.  Think of how many times your boss would give you a task and you would happily take it on because you felt it provided some job security.  It is the same idea.

Children like to feel valued and that feeling continues on into their adulthood.  As long as you plant the seed and give them the work ethic they will need later on in life, they won’t appreciate the tasks assigned to them otherwise.  Making them feel like an important part of the household gives them the confidence and desire to take on other tasks inside and outside the home.

So as you go through your day, holding your child to a schedule and giving them age-appropriate tasks, realize that you are setting the building blocks for the future.