By Brenda Wichmann, Community Ed Notes

We all thrive and feel comfortable once we are in the &8220;swing of things,&8221; so to speak. There is a sense of safety and control in knowing what, where and when we will be doing all the many activities that make up our days.

Establishing routines at an early age provides the framework for children to grow and thrive. We may also think about routines as a way of setting limits. During the first nine months of life parents and other caregivers set limits by creating routines for their infants, such as sleep and feeding routines.

The brain growth that is occurring during this stage of development is all about organizing all of the stimuli that are coming into the brain. Routines help the brain organize the information that it is receiving through the daily care routines and consistent care that is given. Babies develop a sense of trust and predictability if their needs are met in loving, reliable and consistent ways that establish the connection between their behavior and adult response that fits with the normal routine of how things go in the family. Children learn that, &8220;When I do this, Mom or Dad responds to me like that.&8221; It&8217;s part of the routine. It&8217;s what happens consistently during each day and from one day to the next.

Routines can be an effective way to teach toddlers and young children new skills. Getting up in the morning and getting ready to go to daycare is sometimes a challenging time of day for young families. If there are consistent routines in place, each day is a new day to practice and with practice comes success!

One family I know used a picture chart so that the children could &8220;read&8221; the steps in their morning routine. It looked something like this. A picture of the sun: Time to get up. A picture of a bed: Make the bed. A picture of a pair of pants and a shirt: Get dressed. A picture of a bowl of cereal: Eat.

A picture of a tooth brush: Brush your teeth. A picture of a door: Out we go!

After several weeks of trying this routine the Dad reported that they were struggling with getting everyone to follow the routine without a lot of parental coaxing and reminding. He asked me &8220;what happens if they don&8217;t follow the routine?&8221; Good point! So we brainstormed about what would be a logical consequence. The most logical was that they are late going to day care, which was not an acceptable consequence as it affected the parents but had no impact on the children.

We decided they needed a reward for getting through the routine. So after brainstorming what they really liked to do, we hit on the reward of reading a book. Dad made one last picture of a book to put in the routine.

When everyone got ready with five minutes to spare, they got to read one story together. If everyone was not ready, the book reading did not happen but the promise of another day to try again was always there. It worked!

The morning routine turned from chaos and nagging into a self-disciplined orderly habit that resulted in this family having a relatively organized, relaxed early morning together ending with a wonderful connecting time of reading a story together before heading out for a busy day. After a period of time the morning chart was no longer needed.

This routine had become habit for the family. On to conquering new routines!

Brenda Wichmann is a licensed parent educator with Albert Lea Community Education&8217;s Early Childhood Family Education Program.

For more parenting ideas call 379-4838.