By Celine Villadares
Most parents desire to raise a child who can be responsible at a certain age, because seeing independence just makes them proud that their child is growing healthily. Establishing a healthy routine as young as they can be can be a way to train up a child to be responsible, and this structured activity can indeed help them once he becomes an adult. Here are some suggested healthy routines you can try at home:
Wake Them Up Early:
There is such a big benefit in waking up early, aside from the fact that this brings better health in body and mind, it is quite productive as well! When your child is trained to wake up early, they would have enough time to attend to morning chores without feeling the pressure to beat the time. For example, waking up early would reduce stress in going to school than those who are late risers (speaking of getting late to school!). Parents, please be mindful as well of the time that your kid goes to bed, because it is imperative that he gets at least 8-12 hours of sleep depending on his age’s needs. So, early to bed; early to rise would result to a more active and productive child.
Making Up Their Bed:
It is actually orienting your child to establish a practice by being organized first thing in the morning. Making up his own bed is said to be a good way to educate a child in being structured in his own space. A messy room would tend to confuse, however, a clean and proper space such as his room would compel or even inspire him to be organized with his stuff.
Give Responsibilities:
We know that weekdays could be so busy, and sometimes for working parents, it is difficult to juggle everything all at once! So, to help you with this and to establish a beneficial routine for your child; make him be involved. Give him tasks every school day such as washing himself (showering), preparing his school bag and uniform the night before (but parents make sure you check it and the homework!); and that leaves you only with their packed lunch. Giving responsibilities help the child understand duties and tasks early on. If they forget something that is needed for school, then they learn the lesson that preparation is indeed important.
Allow Break Times:
As much as attending to a task is important, don’t forget to tell your child that taking a break in between is not so bad. Allow him to take a break through afternoon naps, rest allows him to re charge and enjoy the rest of day.
Dining Together:
Having a specified time for dining as a family sends a good message to your child- he matters, the family matters. It brings security that at the end of the day and after all the tasks; everyone gets to sit down and talk about how their day went. Dining together is a very good way to bond as well.
Training your child for these healthy routines could be challenging at the beginning, but everything is considered difficult at the start. Once these have been part of your child’s everyday life, rest assured that you have done him a favor in preparing for his adult life!
