Toddlers and Routines
Posted on | January 19, 2010 | No Comments
Routines can be really beneficial when you have a toddler in the house. They help toddlers and parents to more effectively deal with stress. You may have routines for bath time, dinner time, getting dressed, or bed time. Working routines into your day or week can help your toddler’s world more predictable and can actually make them healthier.
If you are interested in the health benefits of routines, start with hand washing, bathing, and brushing teeth. These are things that need to be done regularly, so defining the time when they should be done will help you and your toddler remember to keep it up. Once the routine is established, it is very likely that your toddler will remind you when you forget!
It is easy and fun to remember if you make up a rhyme or song when it’s time to perform a routine chore. Toddlers are more receptive to performing tasks if they know what’s coming. Learning a rhyme gets them excited to practice what they know. For example, when you’re child is washing their hands, have them sing their ABC’s to ensure that they wash them long enough. Or, if you’re in a hurry, have them repeat, “Wash them quick so we don’t get sick.”
Setting up routines around eating, sleeping and playing will help your child know when it’s time to sleep. The human body can adapt to sleeping and eating schedules, and trigger hunger or tiredness. This can be really helpful for parents and toddlers. People that aren’t on an eating schedule tend to graze and snack more between meals. They get into the habit of always eating and jeopardize their health. Having your toddler go to sleep at the same time every night will ensure that they are getting the most recuperative sleep that is essential for their growth and development. Sleep schedules help prepare children for school as well.
Following weekly and monthly routines will help you keep up with things that are hard to get done when you’re a parent. It could be something like checking milestones at the beginning of each month so that you know what to work on with your toddler. You could go through old mail once a month. Anything that needs doing can be worked into a routine. These rituals help you to stay organized and help to lower your stress.
Laundry is a routine that toddlers love to assist with. It is fun and educational for toddlers to help sort laundry. You can sort one week by type of clothing. For example, one pile will be pants, one pile will be socks, etc. You can sort by color, or by whose clothes they are. Toddlers also love to throw clothes into the washer, turn it on, and add the detergent. You can make “driving the warm laundry” part of the routine, and let your toddler play in the basket while you fold. Toddlers can help to hang laundry. Get them their own infant hangers or children’s hangers so that they can easily manipulate their clothes onto the hanger. Baby hangers make it easy to teach your child that laundry can be fun and part of the routine.
About the Author: Kurt Adams is on the staff of Only Kids Hangers, a leading provider of infant hangers. The right baby hangers, like wooden baby hangers and children’s coat hangers, keep baby clothers organized and children’s hangers are great for retail stores.
Tags: baby hangers > children's hangers > infant hangers > infant routine > parenting home organization > parenting routines > parenting tips > toddler laundry > toddler routines