They’re one of the hardest routines to master. It prepares the body to sit down for a while and soothes the nervous system to identify dinnertime as a chill, calm day. Letting them run around for a while, jumping on their bean bags. This will help them feel more like active participants and less like guests.Īnother great tip that therapists swear by is introducing some activity before dinnertime. It’s a good idea to allow your child to control one aspect of a special dinner: they can pick colorful napkins or their favorite side. You can make it exciting by ordering in, using fun tablecloths or plates, or making it a themed night such as “taco night”. It doesn’t have to be a daily occurrence in these instances, but putting it on the weekly calendar is a great idea. For many families, this becomes challenging, especially for households where both parents work or families of shift workers. It should be a fun, positive experience for everyone involved. Give yourself room to adjust, too.Īt The Milky Box, we believe sharing meals as a family is crucial for their development. While we’d all love it if everyone followed the schedule down to a T from day one, this will take weeks and a few adjustments to happen it’s the way our brains work. Eventually, the reminder will stick, but you must be patient, embrace flexibility, and manage everyone’s expectations. These places have to be easily accessible and challenging to avoid. This is why putting your schedule in a place where everyone sees it is essential.Ī good spot is the kitchen, the living room, or the landing up the stairs. Ultimately, a productive day is just a sum of tiny actions that keep the house organized and the kids entertained and help us parents lower our stress. They can focus solely on that task for those minutes and get things sorted out fast, leaving room for their favorite activities later.Ī routine is all about developing habits. For example, you can set a 15-minute window to pick up their room. They can get a sense of how much a task is supposed to be performed. Visual schedules are also great for making chores seem less cumbersome. It’s simple, easy to follow, and less overwhelming. A daily schedule might be better for toddlers and smaller children who are just dipping their toes in the world of schedules. You can also choose the exact amount of time to display: some families with older kids prefer a big whiteboard with a weekly schedule, perfect for penciling in all family activities as well as individual activities such as extracurricular activities. It’s easier to follow, identify, and train the brain to follow a certain pattern. They catch their attention and spark their curiosity, and let’s be honest: as adults, we love having reminders out in the open. It’s the key to why books with big pictures, colorful cartoons, and movies work best for them. For example, teaching them to brush their teeth might take a couple of months, as it requires motor skills and coordination, but surely they’ll get there.įor kids, having visual stimuli is everything. You can start by implementing one every few months. They will start cherishing those daily tasks once they embrace the idea of independence. Things at the beginning will not be easy a lot of kids tend to throw tantrums and refusals, but slowly and surely, they will come around. Some good examples of these activities are brushing hair, getting dressed, brushing teeth, and, for younger kids, putting their toys back in their baskets. These are called activities of daily living (or ADLs as they’re known in the therapy world.) It prepares them for the “real world.” Trusting your children with daily simple self-care tasks that they can accomplish on their own is perfect for developing their independence and confidence. Once they reach six years of age, they start getting more and more ready to do things on their own. They base a lot of their daily actions on repetition and imitation, and it’s important to make the most of that to teach them about daily habits and set them up for smooth mornings as they grow and become independent.
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