Skip to main content

Why kids need routines and how you’re hurting your children by not enforcing them

Routines help kids and adults rock the day - find out how

Do you start off the day with a cup of coffee? Do you have a favorite radio station on for the drive to work? This is the same as kids not being able to fall asleep without a bedtime story. Most people and children have some type of routine to get their day going. Routines are actually an essential part of everyone’s day. Did you ever notice that when something messes with those routines, it’s easy to feel out of sorts and anxious?

According to Ramon Solhkhah, M.D. with the Department of Psychiatry at Jersey Shore University Medical Center in New Jersey, routines “are an important component of good mental health.” Routines create a structure for the day. As adults, we prioritize our routines to ensure all the necessities get done.

Sticking to a routine like going to the gym provides a sense of accomplishment. It turns out routines are just as important for children as they are for adults. Establishing routines for kids when they’re young and continuing them throughout the years is a vital component of their development.

Brushing a toddler's hair
Mladen Mitrinovic/Shutterstock

Why routines for kids are important

Have you ever noticed that when the day isn’t running as usual, the kids tend to act up? The reason is that routines are a crucial part of a child’s day. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, kids function better with a regular household routine that provides consistency. Daily routines create stability and structure while working toward making kids feel safe. Routines also reduce anxiety in kids and adults while teaching children important life skills to help set them on a path to a healthy lifestyle.

Kids brushing their teeth

What routines teach children

Healthy habits

Most people have a routine that helps get them out of the house in the morning to work and to power down at night to go to sleep. Part of those morning and bedtime routines include healthy habits like brushing teeth, showering, washing hands, and brushing hair. By instilling routines in kids, parents are teaching them important healthy habits as well. Brushing teeth after breakfast and before bed is a routine to help take care of teeth and gums. Parents who incorporate a regular time to exercise every day are putting kids on the road to making healthy lifestyle choices later in life.

Responsibility

A part of everyone’s daily routine is typically chores. Doing laundry, making the bed, walking the dog and preparing lunches for school are all examples of chores parents do every day. Chores are usually a part of the day for children and teens, too. Having chores to complete teaches children vital life skills like making a bed, but also instills in them a sense of responsibility and accomplishment.

Completing homework feels like a chore to most kids and teens, but setting aside a regular time for kids to get their homework done is critical. Kids may not appreciate it, but concrete homework time provides the stability they need to concentrate on assignments and study productively. A structured homework time often translates into better grades because kids aren’t rushing to complete an assignment at the last minute or preparing for a test on the fly.

Time management

As kids get older, their days become busier with school, sports, and other activities. Having a daily routine provides structure and also teaches children and teens time management. Time management skills are essential, especially as kids climb the educational ladder. Teens with good time management skills typically do better in and out of the classroom and can adapt to the challenges of college easier, especially when far away from home.

Body clock

Ever notice how you automatically wake up at the same time every day, even on the weekend? That’s because having a regular wake-up and bedtime is a routine. Regular sleep and wake times set the body’s internal clock. A regular bedtime is especially important for children and having a structured routine is a big part of helping kids fall asleep.

According to the Sleep Foundation, a regular bedtime routine leads to quality sleep, which translates to better cognitive skills. Kids without a regular bedtime routine are more likely to have sleep issues and weight problems as tweens and teens.

Toddler sleeping with a stuffed animal
Irina Wilhauk/Shutterstock

Final thoughts on routines

People really are creatures of habit and having a regular routine provides structure and stability. The same is true for kids. Having routines for children teaches them lifestyle skills, healthy habits, time management, and more while making them feel safe and reducing anxiety. The trick, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics, is to balance the all-important routines with some flexibility and choice. Life happens, and it’s OK if the daily routines get thrown off from time to time. Being too rigid with routines or having none at all is problematic.

Editors' Recommendations

Dawn Miller
Dawn Miller began her professional life as an elementary school teacher before returning to her first love, writing. In…
See your child pecking at the keyboard? Try these typing games for kids to build this important skill
Introduce these typing games for kids as soon as possible to get your child's skills to a whole new level
Group of kids around laptops

Learning how to type is as important of a skill in a school’s curriculum as other foundations like reading and math. Technology has become an integral part of our lives in everything from work to school, where everything has some degree of it built into the daily routine. Proper typing is a vital skill that everyone should have, regardless of their occupation.

And, if you've ever texted with a kid, you know that their typing isn't always the best. If your child is doing the chicken pecking dance at the keyboard, there are typing games for kids to increase their speed, accuracy, and confidence. Here's why having great typing skills is something every child needs to have.
How typing relates to student success
With all the devices we have these days, are you ever not typing? Walk into a classroom, and you might see a few students finger tapping at the keyboard. Proper typing proves to be a time-saving skill, and sometimes it takes kids a minute to get there.

Read more
What does the chickenpox look like? Here’s how to know you’re about to be in for an itchy time
Is your child scratching at a rash? Then what does chickenpox look like is a question you need answered
A mother applying cream to her child while they both are in bed

Most parents these days don't have to worry about their child getting chickenpox, thanks to the success of the vaccine. But there's still a possibility your child could catch it if they can't get vaccinated. If that's your little one, what does chickenpox look like so you know how to take care of it? Here's the rundown if it's been a minute since you've had to deal with this type of pox.
What to be on lookout for
The main symptoms

Fever
Exhaustion
Headache/stomachache
Itchy rash accompanied by bumps
Blisters filled with liquid
Lots of scabs after the blisters pop
Blotchy-looking skin

Read more
How to get your toddler to take medicine – try this simple hack
Here's one way to get your sick toddler to take their medicine
Giving toddler medicine

There's nothing worse as a parent than having a sick child, except for having a sick child who refuses to take medicine. If you've ever watched your toddler immediately spit out a mouthful of medicine that you know will make them feel better, or refuse to open their mouth at all, then you can relate. Battling a sick toddler isn't fun.

Unfortunately, kids are magnets for germs and sometimes it's necessary to give them medicine to help them feel better. Having a sick toddler can mean sleepless nights not only for your child but for you as well, and medicine can often make them feel well enough to get the rest they need to recover. Thankfully, forums like Reddit exist where parents share their simple hacks to get toddlers to take medicine that you won't believe you didn't think of first. Keep reading to learn this easy hack to get kids to take medicine.
The juice pouch
Reddit can be a wealth of information when it comes to a lot of different things, including parenting hacks that can make your life easier. Redditor HootsWereHad recently posted a simple yet effective method to get a sick toddler to take cold medicine that involves nothing more than a delicious juice pouch.

Read more