Raising A Family

It’s 9 am and our daughter, who is 2 1/2, comes running to me begging for a snack. Her little internal clock knows that at 9am everyday she gets a snack. You see, our children are up between 5:30 and 6:00 am everyday, because they are in bed by 7 pm. Some may call that crazy, but I don’t mind getting up early to have that extra time at night with my husband. It gives us the time daily we need to focus on each other without the kids running all over. Plus, researchers have said that the hours of sleep before midnight are more productive than the hours after. Our kids get a whole 5 hours before midnight! With all three children, we’ve been able to get them on that schedule at a very young age. Our littlest one, who is 7 1/2 months old, has been going to bed at 7 since he was 3 months old.

Children love schedules. It gives them a sense that they have some control over their environment, because they know what is coming next. They know what to expect. I watch a little boy in our home, who after just a few short weeks of being here already knows what to expect from me. He knows when he gets here, he gets a snack. He knows that after lunch, it’s nap time. He runs right to the room where he sleeps without a whimper. I put the kids down for their naps at the same time each day, so he knows that shortly after nap time his mother will be coming.

We have noticed that it makes for happy, easygoing children. Aside from behavior issues, a schedule takes the chaos out of your day. I’m not saying you have to stick to one strictly, but even loosly helps. Sit down and write out your goals for your daily life and come up with a schedule that works for you. Be flexible with it, so you don’t stress yourself out about the days when it simply doesn’t work. Believe me, I’ve had plenty of those. Put it in to place for 2 weeks and see if the results are worth it.

Let me know how it goes! I want feedback. Feel free to share your experience or tell me that my idea stunk! Happy Scheduling!