Parenting Tip: How Routines Help your Baby & Toddler Thrive

By TMoM Blogger Emi Sano

One of the “fun parts” of being a parent to a baby or a young child is wondering what to do with them every day. Once they get to school, it’s easy to establish routines about getting ready for school in the morning, doing homework in the afternoon, and doing extracurriculars. But what do we do with a baby to set up a routine, and why should we?

Why Routines Matter

Studies have shown that routines are crucial for social-emotional development in early childhood. When children grow up with routines at home, they develop self-regulation skills and adapt more easily to everyday challenges or new experiences. Routines matter because they are predictable and accessible. Toddlers (and, yes, even young babies) thrive on predictability.

This doesn’t mean you need to immediately run off and schedule every class you can think of to fill your days. It can be as simple as having breakfast in the same spot or establishing a bedtime ritual. These simple routines can help your baby and toddler know what to expect each day. As they grow, you can build on these routines by including them in rituals, such as setting the table at dinnertime or participating in their bedtime routine by brushing their teeth or choosing pajamas.

For babies, it’s about having a special bedtime routine, a specific floor time each day, or a nap time routine. Rituals and routines create a sense of family connection and belonging. If you have movie nights on Fridays or Sunday brunch with extended family, those routines give children something to anticipate. Notice their reaction the one time you miss a day; you’ll realize how much they pay attention to their routines.

For my son and I, we have “coffee day” where we meet with friends, generally on a Tuesday. So when I say, “Today is Tuesday,” he automatically says enthusiastically, “IT’S COFFEE DAY!”

What Kind of Routines Can We Establish for Our Babies/Toddlers?

• Bedtime: 
• • Establish what the transition will be like going into bedtime. Try to use the same wording each time to initiate bedtime routine.
  • Try to maintain the same order each time.
  • If your toddler resists on certain bedtime tasks, it’s important they understand your bedtime is a set time and that they will miss out on certain parts of the routines (e.g., extra book at storytime). 
• Meals:
• • Establish how/when/where your family will eat meals.
  • Encourage your toddler/young child to help prepare meals or set the table.
  • Include the baby at the table (bonus if they can be in a highchair) to be part of the family during meals. Give them a baby spoon to play with and experiment!
• Daycare/ Preschool:

• Establish morning routines and care tasks to get ready for daycare and include them in certain age-appropriate tasks. 
• Prepare them for drop-offs beforehand, maybe practice how you will say goodbye with role-playing at home.

How to Stick to Routines in the Summer

If your toddler or older child is off from school for the summer, how do you maintain routines?

I struggled with this as the school year ended. I didn’t want to do a full week of camp for my son, as he only went to school two days a week. So, I decided to have my mom’s house be “preschool” on the days he would go to school. I’m fortunate that my work is remote and my parents live close enough for this arrangement. We continue our usual activities during the rest of the week but add fun summer activities like going to the museum, zoo, and pool! We still have quiet times at the same time each day and keep our bedtime routines the same, no matter where we are.

It’s also good to establish certain rituals when you are on vacation or visiting family so they know what to expect even when they are not home. The more you set and maintain these routines each time you go on vacation, the easier it will be for your toddler to settle in and embrace the new environment.

What Can We Do in the Triad This Summer to Maintain “School” Routines?

1. If you have a preschool aged kid and they aren’t attending summer camps – seek out the local libraries to find when they do storytimes! It gives your child a chance to see kids their age and set themselves in a familiar environment for story, songs, and craft! Each day a different library has a storytime for preschool aged kids and babies. 
2. Use the summer to spend some time with family without worrying about school work! Check out this Bucket List for Summer 2024 of places to see/visit in NC.
3. Sign up your kids for sports! Sports are a great way to maintain routine and honor commitments. Check out this directory of Sport Programs for Youth in the Triad.

Sources:

The Importance of Routines for Kids