By now, kids across the United States are back to school. The new school year brings a flurry of activities and can make life a little more hectic. As you struggle to get back into the rhythm of the school year, it’s a great time for creating routines to make day-to-day life a little easier. Many children thrive on routines because it lets them know what to expect. I’ve spoken with children’s specialists who tell me routines are helpful for kids because it lessens their anxiety and helps them to feel more secure. Because of this, we have started creating more routines in our home.
Today, I want to share five areas where you can start creating routines that will ease the transition into the new school year. This is also a great time to implement changes in the home that you may have desired for some time but didn’t know how to get started.
5 Routines for the New School Year
1. Create weekly meal plans.
We hear this often enough, but until you try it, you don’t realize how much simpler dinnertime ca become. It’s something I have started doing only in the last few weeks, and I am already seeing how much easier dinnertime is. During the school year, evenings can be packed with activity. Kids need to do homework, practice for sports or plays, or groups like Girl Scouts start to take over your schedule. When you don’t have a plan, it’s much easier to settle for options that are less healthy and often more expensive than what you could have for dinner if planned. Our grocery bill is even less because I know what I am going to make, so I buy what I need. I don’t end up throwing random items in the cart or picking up too many fresh items that will spoil before I could ever use them.
2. Plan a chore routine for yourself and your kids.
First, let’s talk about chores for kids. Parents often have a lot of different views on this. Honestly, I wasn’t sure where I landed on it until a parenting seminar I recently attended. Why should kids do chores? Is it just so we don’t have to do it ourselves? As a parent, our goal is to prepare children for life. So instead of thinking of the work as chores, think of them as life skills. By assigning chores, we are teaching children important life skills that they will need as adults. Not only will they need to know how to clean their own homes, to wash their own clothes, and to cook their own food, but they also need to know how to do a task repetitively, even when they don’t want to, how to do a job well, and how to recognize that the work they do benefits the whole and isn’t just for them. These are important life skills that children learn through doing chores.
Now why should you also create a cleaning routine for yourself? Life is busy, and getting behind on housework can leave you feeling overwhelmed. By doing a little each day, you can better stay on top of the household chores and maintain time to relax or to spend with your kids or spouse. I want to be able to stop and completely focus on playing with my kids when they ask or to give my husband my full attention and not be distracted by all the tasks I still need to do.
3. Set parameters on electronic usage.
Summer is often a time when rules for electronic usage become lax because the days are wide open. Once school starts, there is so much more to every day. My kids would gladly watch TV or play video games from the time they get home until it’s time to go to bed. As parents we have to set the rules for usage and to model that behavior. Electronics can provide kids an outlet to relax after a long day at school, but the time should be limited and their evenings naturally need to include other things, such as homework, eating dinner, playing outside or with friends, or playing with you and building the bond you have with your kids.
4. Set bedtimes and strictly maintain them.
Sleep patterns greatly affect our waking productivity and attentiveness. Kids need sustained energy and attention to focus throughout the school day, through homework time, and during any practices or groups they may be involved in. This is easily the most difficult routine for us to maintain, but when we don’t, the consequences are evident very quickly. Sleep is also difficult to really “catch up” on because spending more time sleeping to make up for a lack of sleep only messes with our sleep patterns even more.
5. Practice daily self care.
Once school starts, I am “on” as a parent from the moment they get home in the afternoon until it is time for bed. Children are often full of energy and if we have worn ourselves thin, we can struggle to keep up with them throughout the evening. When a hectic school year follows a busy summer, it is even more important to take time to refuel ourselves. Self care isn’t selfish. It may sound strange to ask yourself “what have I done today that was just for me?” It is, however, a very important question to our own well-being. It can be as simple as enjoying an uninterrupted cup of coffee or reading a few pages of a good book before bed. Self-care doesn’t have to mean a trip to the spa (although, let’s be honest, we’d all take one if offered, right?) It is a time of recharging yourself, mentally, physically, emotionally, and spiritually. Daily self care goes a long ways to improving our overall outlook on life.
While it may seem overwhelming to start several new routines at once, the new school year is a great time to start because we can set the expectation with our children of what the new school day will look like. Their day is already going to look different because it includes school, so help them to consider it as one big change overall. There will likely be some growing pains, but a routine doesn’t become routine until we keep practicing. There will also be days when things just don’t go as planned. Let it go and aim to try again tomorrow, taking it one day at a time. Raising kids is hard. Creating routines can be hard, too, but once they become habit, they help to make life easier.
What routines would you add to this list? What areas do you most struggle with in maintaining a routine? In what areas have you seen a routine to be most helpful?
I would love to hear your thoughts! Best of luck in developing routines to make everyday life a little bit easier!