Lets face it as a single mom or dad it is imperative to have a routine in order to keep our lives running as smooth as possible. Without a routine when would I ever get to bed or do the bills or even have time to sit and read or write or watch TV if I chose to? I was just reminded of this today by a reader as to the importance of it and thought I would use this as my topic today.
I say YES, routines are needed children need to know that things will be the same for the
most part, such as... they have to go to school but that they come home again.
You have to go to work but you come home at the end of the day. Homework was done while I was getting dinner ready or if they were able to they did it with their grandma or at after school care. Another routine that was a must was we all sit down
together for dinner without the TV on. Toys had to be put away before bed time or if homework was not done this was their time to get it done! My
favorite routine and I know my kids enjoyed it was before lights out we would read a book together. We had a book that was part of a series that we read called Krystonian Adventures, we would all get into the reading of it and would even act out the characters in story. Of course these are all great routines right?
But lets be real sometimes it did not always go that way I was an executive administrator to the President & CEO of a large mental health agency in Los Angeles and if we had a board meeting that meant I was working right into the night. Or if it was a Tuesday or Thursday night I had class which meant there was no dinner all together there was no reading of our beloved Krystonian Adventures! I must say on those nights things just never worked out right but it was what it was. However, my kids sure did look forward to the nights we would read and they would remind me when we did not read. I later learned how important the going to school and work and all returning at the end of the day was to my son. Who later told me he worried that I would not return, remember his dad left and said he would see him later but did not for nine long years (another issue to tackle on an other post)! As my kids got older we did not always read... I would spend time speaking with each of them before lights out or just after lights were out about what ever was on their mind. I know my daughter really enjoyed this cause it was her time with me!
OK, so that was my family what about your family? What are you thoughts on this subject - routines do we need
them with our kids or not? Share your thoughts! Maybe share what some of your routines are with us, leave a comment that we can all read, you just might be helping someone out. Also if you were raised in a one-parent family what kind of routines did you have which ones made sense to you and which did not? Which routines did you incorporate into your life now that you are grown? I look forward to hearing or reading your comments.
And, so it goes...
