Establishing predictability at home

Predictable routines at home can positively impact children’s cognitive, social, and emotional development.

For young children you might have routines for:

• Getting ready in the morning
• Mealtimes
• Play time
• Nap time
• Story time
• Bath time
• Going to bed

Keeping these routines as consistent as possible is key to supporting your child’s development. You may find the following strategies helpful:

• Regular bedtime routines. Bedtime routines help prepare children’s brains for sleep. Having a predictable order of events that occur around the same time every day helps children build healthy sleep habits. Routines don’t need to be complicated – a bedtime routine for a child in the early years might be dinner, bath, brushing teeth, pyjamas, story, then sleep.
• Mealtimes together. Finding time in the busy daily schedule to have a meal together as a family is an important part of children’s routines. Eating together is an ideal way to spend quality time and build strong relationships, promoting communication, self-esteem and healthy eating habits.  
• Weekly activity. Adding a regular activity to the child’s weekly routine can be a fun way to support transition through predictability. For example, Friday evening pizza or Saturday morning at the park can signal to your child that the weekdays are finished and it is now time for the weekend routine.