The Importance Of Routines For Children
The famous Austrian educator and psychiatrist Rudolf Dreikurs said that “Routines are for a child what walls are for a house; it provides boundaries and dimensions in life. No child feels comfortable in a situation where they do not know what to expect. Routine gives a feeling of security. An established routine also gives a sense of order, from which freedom grows. ”
Dreikurs succeeded in developing a method for understanding and raising children, which shows children’s abilities to be stimulated through cooperative behavior without the need for punishments or rewards.
According to Dreikurs, bad behavior arises from a lack of respect for the social group to which one belongs. When this occurs in the mind of a developing child, the result is wrong goals, such as inadequacy, power, revenge and attention.
Routines and habits in children
We will continue along the same lines as Dreikurs. It is clear that raising children without responsibility and security during early childhood will create future adults with serious behavioral problems.
But how can you introduce children to a world of security, constraints and knowledge regarding their surrounding environment? Through routines and habits. This is a way to offer children a peaceful stable environment where they can learn in a constructive way to develop a safe and conscious personality.
What is a habit?
A habit is a stability mechanism that allows the development of an individual’s skills. This refers to attitudes, behaviors and habits that lead to the creation of learning patterns in different situations, from tying shoes to organizing study time.
What is a routine?
Routine refers to a personal habit that is established because it is comfortable, without the need for modification or flexibility. It can be as simple as brushing your teeth after eating.
The benefits of routines and habits
Both habits and routines are important for children. In addition to having a stable, peaceful environment where they feel safe, they also get a sense of regularity, consistency and perseverance, which is useful for their development into adult life.
Doing something they know how to do creates a state of calm that can make them feel capable. It is also important to note that infants do not know the world around them when they are born. The first months of life are a total discovery of their environment. The parents are their guardians at the beginning of their lives. It is necessary to organize a stable environment with schedules, routines, habits and activities that are repeated until the child internalizes the skill and can perform it safely and almost unconsciously.
The organization that the parents establish for the children allows them to develop their own schedules. That way, they will get to know their world a little at a time and make it a predictable place that is therefore safe and stable.
Routines are vital for the physical and psychological development of children. Schedules for food, sleep, hygiene and all the habits related to these basic functions are necessary for the baby.
A consistent way to avoid future behavioral problems in children is to surround them with a safe world that they can explore in a safe way. In this way, they will be able to discover and develop their skills, thanks to the stability that habits can bring to their lives.
