Positive Discipline Tool: The Importance of Routine

We often see spring as a time to not only clean out our cabinets, but organize our lives and feel on top of our daily schedule! As adults, we know how valuable and motivating effectively managing our time can be. Think of the potential positive impact passing these traits onto your children could have in their future success. The experts at Positive Discipline, recently blogged about the value of teaching your children the importance of routine.

"Creating routine charts is great training for children to learn time and life management skills. Parents help their children by guiding them in the creation of their routine charts instead of creating charts for them. Parents add to the effectiveness of routine charts when they allow their children to experience the satisfaction of following their charts because it feels good (a sense of accomplishment) instead of giving them stickers and rewards—which takes away from their inner sense of accomplishment.

Some parents forget that their most important task is to make their job obsolete. Their job is to help their children be self-sufficient instead of dependent. Teaching children to create routine charts is a great step toward that end. Does this mean that routine charts are magical and will prevent all future resistance and challenges from children? No. Testing their power is part of their individuation process. However, working “with” children to help them learn skills will make your job obsolete much quicker and more effective than thinking it is your job to be in charge of everything they do. Guiding your children to create routine charts is just one of the many ways you can empower your children to feel and be competent and capable."