For most of us, our lives involve a series of patterns—routines we perform almost every day, like stopping at the same place each day for coffee on the way to work. This is also very true for children. While we play a part in creating routines in our children’s lives, we may not fully realize the role they play in young children’s development. Let’s look at some benefits of creating routines:

Routines help children learn self-control.

Consistent routines, activities that happen at about the same time and in about the same way each day, provide comfort and a sense of safety to children. Whether it is time to play, time for a snack, a nap, or a loved one to return, knowing what will happen next gives children security and emotional stability. It helps them learn to trust that caring adults will provide what they need. When children feel this sense of trust and safety, they are free to do their “work,” which is to play, explore, and learn.

Routines help bring you and your child closer together and reduce power struggles:

Stable routines allow children to anticipate what will happen next. This gives young children confidence, and a sense of control, such as when parents say: “It is bedtime. Would you like to brush teeth now or after we get your pyjamas on?” Routines can also limit the amount of “NO’s” and behaviour corrections you need to give a child throughout the day, since your child can better predict what should happen next: “I know you want a cracker. But it is clean-up time now. Remember, after clean-up, it is snack-time.”

Routines support and develop children’s social skills.

As children grow up, they come in contact with more people and begin to learn patterns and routines for social interaction. Greetings, good-byes, and chatting with others are examples of routine interactions that teach social skills. These interactions are also opportunities to help our children develop language skills.

Play-time and mealtime are two routines that are very social times for children and parents alike. Through talking, taking turns, sharing toys, learning to wait, and helping others during these activities, children learn important social skills that will help them later in life.

Routines are an important opportunity for learning.

Daily routines are often thought of as just “maintenance” activities: meal time, running errands, getting ready for bed, taking baths. But these everyday actions are rich opportunities to support your child’s learning and development, while having fun. Routines offer the chance to build self-confidence, curiosity, social skills, self-control, communication skills, and more. Take grocery shopping for example:

You take your child through the supermarket. She points at the apples and says,’ These look so yummy!’ You pick up one and ask her to feel it. ‘Don’t they feel smooth?’ you say. ‘What should we do now dear?’ you ask. ‘Let’s put some in this paper-bag mum,’ she replies.Together, you count six apples and put them in the bag.’ Nice work! Thanks for helping me sweetheart.’

Here, a simple interaction between you and your child opened the doors for practicing language skills, taking turns, talking, using one’s senses, and learning about numbers. It also provided a chance to nurture the child’s self-confidence and self-esteem as you let your child know that her thoughts and interests were important. You have also let your child know that she was capable of doing important things, like choosing and bagging the apples.

Routines provide the two key ingredients for learning: relationships and repetition. So create happy routines and enjoy these “ordinary” moments with your child. If she’s having fun with you, she’s learning, too!