Why do kids need routines?
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Because routines give them a sense of security and help them develop self-discipline.
Below is the list of reasons as to why self care is so important to implement, as well as a list of self care activities. Self care reduces stress levels. By taking just a few minutes to yourself each day you can allow yourself to be more productive, as well as produce higher quality work. Boring Self-Care and the Importance of Routines. Sometimes taking time for yourself, taking care of yourself, seems like a radical act. To understand how important self-care can be, let’s take a look at what really constitutes self-care. Mar 29, 2018 Aside from the positive effects your targeted skin care routine can have on the appearance of your body’s largest organ, there’s a very important self-care aspect to this daily ritual. To learn more about the correlation between skin care and self-care, we reached out to board-certified plastic surgeon, SkinCeuticals ambassador,.
Humans are afraid of many things, but 'the unknown' edges out everything except death and public speaking for most people.
Children’s fear of the unknown includes everything from a suspicious new vegetable to a major change in their life. For better or worse, children are confronted with change daily, which is a growth opportunity, but also stressful.
The very definition of growing up is that their own bodies change on them constantly. Babies and toddlers give up pacifiers, bottles, breasts, cribs, their standing as the baby of the house. New teachers and classmates come and go every year. They tackle and learn new skills and information at an astonishing pace, from reading and crossing the street to soccer and riding a bike. Few children live in the same house during their entire childhood; most move several times, often to new cities and certainly to new neighborhoods and schools.
And few of these changes are within the child’s control.
Children, like the rest of us, handle change best if it is expected and occurs in the context of a familiar routine. A predictable routine allows children to feel safe, and to develop a sense of mastery in handling their lives. As this sense of mastery is strengthened, they can tackle larger changes: walking to school by themselves, paying for a purchase at the store, going to sleepaway camp.
Unpredictable changes – Mom called away on an unexpected business trip, a best friend moving, or more drastic, parents divorcing or a grandparent dying – erode this sense of safety and mastery and leave the child feeling anxious and less able to cope with the vicissitudes of life. Of course, many changes can't be avoided. But that's why we offer children a predictable routine as a foundation in their lives--so they can rise to the occasion to handle big changes when they need to.
While helping children feel safe and ready to take on new challenges and developmental tasks would be reason enough to offer them structure, it has another important developmental role as well. Structure and routines teach kids how to constructively manage themselves and their environments.
Kids who come from chaotic homes where belongings aren’t put away never learn that life can run more smoothly if things are organized a little. In homes where there is no set time or space to do homework, kids never learn how to sit themselves down to accomplish an unpleasant task. Kids who don’t develop basic self-care routines, from grooming to food, may find it hard to take care of themselves as young adults. Structure allows us to internalize constructive habits.
Won’t too much structure dull our sense of spontaneity and creativity?
Sure, if it's imposed without sensitivity. There are times when rules are made to be broken, like staying up late to see an eclipse, or leaving the dinner dishes in the sink to play charades. But even the most creative artists start by mastering the conventions of the past, and find the pinnacle of their expression in working within the confines of specific rules.
There's no reason structure has to be oppressive. Think of it as your friend, offering the little routines and traditions that make life both easier and cozier. Not only will your kids will soak up the security, they'll internalize the ability to structure their own lives.
Does this mean infants should be put on routines as early as possible?
NO! Infants tell us what they need. We feed them when they're hungry, change them when they're wet. Over time, they learn the first step of a routine: We sleep at night. But forcing an infant to accommodate to our routine is not responsive to your infant's needs. She is not capable of adapting to yours yet. If her needs aren't met, she will simply feel as if the world is a place where her needs don't get met, so she has to resort to drama to try to meet them.
As your infant moves into babyhood, she will establish her own routine, settling into a schedule of sorts. Most babies settle into a fairly predictable pattern. We can help them with this by structuring our day around their needs, so, for instance, we make sure conditions are appropriate for her nap at the time she usually sleeps. Gradually, over time, we can respond to her natural schedule of eating and sleeping by developing a routine that works for her and for the whole family.
Seven Benefits of Using Routines with Your Kids
1. Routines eliminate power struggles
Routines eliminate power struggles because you aren't bossing the child around. This activity (brushing teeth, napping, turning off the TV to come to dinner) is just what we do at this time of day. The parent stops being the bad guy, and nagging is greatly reduced.
2. Routines help kids cooperate
Routines help kids cooperate by reducing stress and anxiety for everyone. We all know what comes next, we get fair warning for transitions, and no one feels pushed around, or like parents are being arbitrary.
3. Routines help kids learn to take charge of their own activities.
Over time, kids learn to brush their teeth, pack their backpacks, etc., without constant reminders. Kids love being in charge of themselves. This feeling increases their sense of mastery and competence. Kids who feel more independent and in charge of themselves have less need to rebel and be oppositional.
4. Kids learn the concept of 'looking forward' to things they enjoy...
...which is an important part of making a happy accommodation with the demands of a schedule. He may want to go to the playground now, but he can learn that we always go to the playground in the afternoon, and he can look forward to it then.
5. Regular routines help kids get on a schedule
Regular routines help kids get on a schedule, so that they fall asleep more easily at night.
6. Routines help parents build in those precious connection moments.
We all know that we need to connect with our children every day, but when our focus is on moving kids through the schedule to get them to bed, we miss out on opportunities to connect. If we build little connection rituals into our routine, they become habit. Try a snuggle with each child when you first see them in the morning, or a 'recognition' ritual when you're first reunited:
'I see you with those beautiful gray eyes that I love so much!' or a naming ritual as you dry him after the bath: 'Let's dry your toes...your calf...your knee...your thigh....your penis....your belly ...'
Rituals like these slow you down and connect you on a visceral level with your child, and if you do them as just 'part of the routine' they build security as well as connection and cooperation.
7. Schedules help parents maintain consistency in expectations.
If everything is a fight, parents end up settling: more TV, skip brushing teeth for tonight, etc. With a routine, parents are more likely to stick to healthy expectations for everyone in the family, because that's just the way we do things in our household. The result: a family with healthy habits, where everything runs more smoothly!
For more inspiration on how to structure a routine that works for your family:
Building an evening routine for kids of different ages»
Starting a routine»
Routines & Structure that Toddlers Can Understand»
Getting Your Child Out the Door in the Morning»
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How do you develop an effective self-care practice as a solopreneur or coach?
Self-care. We all know we need it. But what exactly is it? Bubble baths and spa days? True self-care goes much deeper than that, especially for those of us who run our own business.
Developing a self-care practice is beneficial for everyone, but especially important to highly sensitive types, empaths, caretakers, perfectionists, high achievers, and people-pleasers. The more your work relies on your personal time and energy, the more self-care you need.
But how do you discover the best self-care practice for you? The most effective self-care practice is one based on your own intuition: tuning in to what your inner self already knows and taking action from that place.
Why a regular self-care practice is important
Your relationship with yourself is the most important relationship you’ll ever have. And like any relationship, it needs to be nurtured in order to stay healthy.
Why Selfcare Routines For Solopreneurs Are Essentials
The best kind of self-care helps you maintain your energy so that you can show up more powerfully in the world. It allows you to rest and recuperate so you don’t experience burnout and fatigue.
An effective self-care practice is one that gives you what you need in order to be of service to others. After all, you can’t help someone put on their oxygen mask if yours is nowhere to be found.
When it comes to taking care of yourself, consistency is key. A regular practice helps you feel more centered, relaxed, and focused over time. And like yoga or meditation, a self-care is exactly that — a practice — that requires constantly returning to yourself.
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The type of self-care matters
When people hear the word self-care, they think of spa days and bubble baths or pedicures and haircuts.
While your practice may include those activities, self-care is not just about your body or outside image. Complete self-care means nurturing yourself from the inside out; not the other way around.
An effective self-care practice includes paying attention to your body, mind, and soul. This requires checking in with yourself on a regular basis and developing a keen awareness of what you need.
Keep in mind, your most effective self-care isn’t necessarily the same from day to day. The activities will change based on what’s going on with you. Some days you might need a quiet walk alone, other days you might need a sweaty workout, other days you might need a nap or time in meditation.
How you can create your own personalized self-care plan
These 5 steps can help you create an effective self-care practice personalized to your needs by tuning into your body and intuition, and taking the necessary actions to best support yourself.
1. Find a way to check-in with yourself on a regular basis. Carve out time each day to check in with yourself. Get still, get quiet, and observe what’s coming up for you. Even if it’s for 5 minutes a day, build this time into your daily routine. Commit to making it a regular practice, and create the time and space to make it happen.
2. Acknowledge where you’re at in that moment. How are you feeling? If you’re sad, be sad. If you’re angry, be angry. If you’re frustrated, be frustrated. Whatever you’re feeling, acknowledge it. It’s much more therapeutic to allow your feelings to come up and pass through you rather than to stuff them inside or pretend they don’t exist.
3. Listen to what your body, mind, and soul is telling you. What is calling out for your attention? What has been neglected that needs to be brought to light? You might notice anything from a persistently sore muscle to nagging resentment over an argument. If you can’t quite hear what your intuition or your body is telling you, stay the course. Practice sitting in solitude on a regular basis until something does arise.
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4. Based on the messages you receive, what action do you need to take? If you feel the need for rest, your action could be a cat nap or planning fora day off. If you detect resentment, your action might be to call the person you feel resentment toward and share your feelings. If you sense physical tension, your action might be to get a massage. If you feel stagnant in your life, your action could be to move your body. Maybe the best action is to sit in solitude.
5. Take action. (This is important!)Whatever you sense you need, give yourself the time and space to do that thing. Although having awareness is a great first step, it’s not enough on its own to give you the relief you seek. You must take the in order to feel better.
When you repeat this sequence on a regular basis, you’ll develop a heightened sense of self-awareness, be able to identify the best self-care practices to support yourself, and create the time for those activities.
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Creating an effective self-care practice gets easier over time and it’s worth taking the time. Cultivating this type of intuitive self-care as a solopreneur will help you maintain your sense of self, source of energy, and feeling of centeredness and peace.
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Do you want help creating your intuitive self-care practice? Download this free Self-Care Planner and Tracker to get started!