Routines help!

We all need some routine in our lives to keep things on an even keel. When you are a single parent, having routines in place for many different aspects of your life, may be a life saver. When life is coming at you in all different directions, it may be difficult, but your life, and the lives of your children will be easier to handle, and easier to choose happiness if you set up some routines and stick to them.

We all tend to be caught up in a frenzy of activity, believing that our kids have to be involved in lots of different sports, after school events, or social activities to be the best they can be and as parents, we often think we need to be involved in lots of activities too, to prevent boredom or to stay up with others, etc. All of these activities keep us running at a ridiculous speed and there is no time to set any sort of routine. We are lucky to just make it through the day. However, no one is going to be hurt by slowing down, taking a deep breath, and just enjoying each others company or the company of a good book, or playing a game together, or any number of things that a family can do together around the house. You will be a closer family for the effort and everyone will feel better. And setting some routines will help you slow down.

Routines help everyone in a household. Setting a routine up for getting everyone out the door on time in the mornings can help alleviate the tension, yelling, and hurt feelings that occur when everyone is running late. Routines for an early bedtime can help soothe the children and give mom or dad a break before hitting the bed themselves. Research shows that children need plenty of sleep, up to nine hours, and that unfortunately in our activity crazy society, most children do not get enough sleep most nights of the week. Setting routines for dinner and for other daily activities can help the household run smoother and easier.

Implementing routine may take some time and kids may balk at the change if you have had a "whatever" attitude, but if tensions are flaring and no one is getting along, routines can help. And remember, above all other things, you are the parent and if you do not take on the parent roll your children will suffer. You can say no and you can say this is how it is going to be! Need some help? Try a program like Love and Logic. http://www.loveandlogic.com/ This may really come in handy if you are struggling. Or take a look at some of the excellent books on raising children and use a few minutes each day to find ideas to implement.

Write up a routine you would like to implement in your home. Go through the steps in logical motion and then you might even post the list on the refrigerator for the kids to read, or you read to them, and begin, one routine at a time, to give you all some time to slow down, enjoy each other, and to choose happiness!