Motherhood becomes stressful when our mental health is overlooked and the feeling of “I have to do it all” runs our day. Structure and routines may seem burdensome but they quickly become a form of self care when you are able to pass over (age appropriate) control to your children. Yup, I called it self care. And while I will stand by that it is also very much instilling independence and control in our children as well. I am happy to share with you HOW to raise capable kids but also why positive family routines help children and the family as a whole!
One of the most mentioned goals I hear from parents is that they want to raise capable kids who WANT to contribute to the everyday family needs. When I hear this I always start with structure and routine. It is crucial to raising capable kids! The simple fact is that IF we jump in to do every little task for our children NOW, while they’re young, what is going to make them want to contribute when the pre teen and above years kick in?!
At 4 years old these boys have a lot of tasks they routinely take on and setting the dinner table is one of them! I love these Montessori Placemats by Lovevery because they promote mastery of this task for our boys. It teaches them how to manage themselves and help the family too!
Our older two girls ( 8 and 6) routinely help themselves in the form of helping around the house, making breakfast and packing their own lunches (plus many more!) While these are all things I do help with on occasion (especially if they ask me to help or even join them) they are BASIC things that they will need to know how to do for the rest of their lives.
Routines and structure help move our children from the mentality that someone must always do for them to the ‘I can do for myself.’ It all starts with positive routines! I hope this post helped you to make the step towards creating routines in your own home too! Enjoy!