A break from the routine?

To a certain degree, human beings prefer routines. Doing the same thing at around the same time provides a sense of security, particularly for little ones. With a three year old, a two year old and an 8 month old, I maintain my sanity through a routine.

Our days rarely vary and all you have to do is look at a clock to know what we are doing at any given time. My kids get up around 7:30 every day. At 8, we eat breakfast. At 9, Charlie takes a nap. The kids play in the backyard until 11. They eat lunch until 12. We do something fun (like a playground or the library) or chores (like grocery shopping) until 2 when Charlie and TJ go down for naps. I watch General Hospital until 3 and Billy watches his shows until 4. At 4, we have story time and then we take a walk. At 5:30, I prepare dinner and we eat at 6:30 when John usually comes home. After we eat, the kids play with John until their bedtime at 8. Even bedtime has it's own routine. The kids take a bath, put on their pajamas, read a story, have a little "quiet time", brush their teeth and are in bed before 9.

We also travel frequently. To some, this might mean a break in the routine. To our family, it simply means a somewhat modified routine. Not because I am a slave to the clock, but because my kids prefer it.

The perfect example is our recent trip to Mexico. It was a fabulous trip. Sun, beach, pool, good food and great new friends. You can't ask for much more. Even though we had nowhere to be and nothing we had to get done, it didn't take long for my kids to adopt to a routine. They woke up around 7:30, went to breakfast at 8:30, were by the pool by 9:30 where they swam until 3:00 or so. We went up to the room and relaxed (some days the kids napped, other days they didn't) until 6 when we went to dinner and ate until 8 or so. After dinner we explored the resort and the kids generally were in bed by 9 only to repeat the same thing the next day.

Adopting to a routine, no matter what it might be, maintains a sense of security for my kids regardless of where we are in the world. When my kids are secure and know what to expect, they tend to be well behaved. Good kids equals a happy mom and a happy mom usually means a good time is had by all!