Each year your child grows and learns new things. One day he can’t walk; the next day he runs everywhere. One evening, you spend time with him trying to learn to distinguish the different letters of the alphabet.
Then, before you even know it, your child is reading like a grown-up. Time flies at an incredible speed and children change very quickly.
Each passing year is a new opportunity for your child to learn new expressions, new words, and new methods of communication.
But new knowledge makes children happy and excited. Yet sometimes it can be too much for them and they need our help and support to overcome them.
And for that, it’s important to establish a daily routine that will help children relax and prepare for new life challenges.
Indeed, if you want your child to be successful later in life, you need to start a morning ritual now. Why? Because children who have a precise morning routine are emotionally more stable.
And they adapt more easily than kids who don’t follow any rules. But what is this morning routine that seems to be the foundation for success?
1. Get enough sleep and have a generous breakfast
If you want your child to have the physical and mental strength to overcome all of life’s little obstacles, they need to be well-rested. Most importantly, he should start the day with a nutritious breakfast.
Logical, you will tell me! Unfortunately, many parents skip breakfast or give their kids a quick snack because they don’t have enough time in the morning.
Then the kids eat a lot for lunch and dinner, which is the exact opposite of what they should be doing. It is in the morning that they need energy the most.
Yes, breakfast is a very important meal: it makes your day a success or a failure. So you have to teach your children to take advantage of this moment.
Thus, once adults, they will have the right habits and they will continue to eat copiously in the morning. This will give them the energy and the will to face their day.
In addition, it is important to be consistent and persevering in the rituals of morning tasks such as dressing, brushing teeth, bathing, and making the bed.
Consistency is very important for children because this way they always know what to expect!
2. Be consistent
Consistency enhances children’s sense of security because they know what is going on around them and what to expect. In addition, consistency also helps children to be more independent.
To encourage routine in children, we must adhere to it ourselves. When looking at us, children should imitate our actions, and routine is a good deed.
Imitation encourages independence, which is highly valued as it adds to their self-confidence. When you praise them, the kids have the wind at their backs and are more willing to put in the effort. So praise all their efforts.
For example, you can show off on the weekend what you do to get ready in the morning. Then you can practice during the week.
And you prepare at the same time as the children. And follow the morning ritual until they assimilate it.
3. Make a list of obligations
When you write all the obligations on a board, for example, they become more tangible and real. Even if your children cannot read, you can read their obligations and they will be guided as if they are reading the list themselves.
We are all tired of being parrots repeating the same thing. To change the list often and make it interesting. Have the children read to you what needs to be done next. It will make them feel great and fulfilled.
4. Create dynamism
The morning routine should be energetic and dynamic to promote the rhythm of the day. Some children wake up full of energy, while others need more time to wake up.
For both, it’s great to introduce a controlled dynamic, something that will calm and direct more energetic children and wake up sleeping ones.
For example, for kids who have trouble waking up, make a game where you are a fairy throwing magical dust that will wake them up by first moving their toes, legs, stretching their spine, etc…
For more active children, you can provide movement that they can focus on. For example, you can ask them to jump 10 times on one leg. Count the jumps and direct their energy that way.
5. Hide phones
While it can be tempting to give kids a phone to drink your coffee in peace, try to limit the time your kids spend playing games on screens.
While we shouldn’t completely remove screens from our lives and those of our children, we shouldn’t let them take control of our activities either.
Try to find an application for the morning routine. Thus, the child will have the impression that he is playing while he performs the tasks he needs to do and that the app reminds him of.
Two stones, one blow!
6. Forget about stress
This element is extremely important. Remember not to stress and to breathe deeply when you feel that stress is approaching.
Find a way to deal with the morning pressure. Be organized, make a plan and involve the children as much as possible in the whole process.
Many teachers and educators say that in school they can spot the stress that parents have passed on to their children.
So if the parents are calm, it also shows in the children. Also, if the child’s morning has not started properly (if the child is dirty or poorly dressed), it affects their day. Keep this in mind.
It is important to clearly define the priorities. See what you can finish the day before. Put away the things, the bags. Get rid of all the pressures that will make you lose your mind first thing in the morning.
Free up in the morning as much as you can, to be calm and collected.