School is back, and so is the challenge of helping kids get back into their routine. With students heading into their third schoolyear marked by the COVID-19 pandemic, healthy routines are more important than ever. Whether your mornings or bedtimes get a little hectic, most families benefit from a little extra structure in their day.
Routines at home help kids feel safe and secure, and are especially important during times of change, like the start of a new school year, and heightened stress and anxiety. It’s still difficult to predict exactly how the pandemic will affect school this year and taking time to talk with your child about healthy habits can help lessen feelings of uncertainty and overwhelm.
Here are some tips and information to set your youth up for a great year!
Do It Together
Including your youth in creating their routine will help them feel empowered to take ownership over their healthy habits and successes. Having a good routine in place will definitely benefit you, but the main priority is your child and their wellbeing. Knowing what kind of routine feels good and helps is an excellent life-long skill and can help kids thrive well into adulthood.
Be Realistic
Remember who this routine is for! If your child has difficulties getting to sleep on time, leave room for that in the routine so they don’t get discouraged. Setting them up for success means being mindful of what you know is realistic from the get-go. Maybe they tend to sleep in and don’t have time for a shower or bath in the morning – you can add that to their nighttime routine instead so neither of you feel rushed or frustrated in the morning.
Ask, and Listen
Another way to help your youth feel empowered with their routine is to center their needs, wants, and feelings when you’re creating and adjusting it. Ask them questions about what they want to get out of their routine, why they might want to work on building healthy habits, and check-in often about how it’s working for them.
Start Small, Build Up
Jumping into the deep end with a lot of big changes is likely to make kids resist routine and dread the idea of ‘healthy habits.’ Starting small can help you and your child find success with their routine early on, which is motivating for them to keep it up. Once they have a few wins and are feeling confident, you can continue to work with them on adding new steps to their routine.
If you need extra support for you and family, you can find carya programs and services here.