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My son's routine at 12 months & why I choose non-structure!!! |
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Anonymous Author (August 2007) |
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I thought I'd share my son's routine and if your reading this I assum thats because your child is around the same age and indicating yet anouther change to there routine, as it always seems the way, the min you think you have it all sussed your organised boom they
decide to change it ...This is why I don't use an over structured routine a certain amount of flexability is needed to make the transition easier for us all. And as I will explain I think over structure can be damaging to your child.
My son has recently gone from ...
Waking 9.30/10.30
Breakfast ...bottle
cereal within an hour
11.30 snack
playtime, bath.
1pm naptime
3pm dinner juice friut
5pm drink and snack
630/7 tea main meal and dessert
7.45 he would be offered anouther bottle sometimes he would sometimes not intrested...
8pm bedtime and sleeps right through no worries.
He had had this routine since he was 8/9 months old but now has changed it of his own accord in the past two weeks to this...
Waking 730am sometimes as early as 5am but will be settled back down.
Breakfast ...bottle (as soon as we come downstairs)
Again cereal within the hour.
Playtime , bath...
But now he wants a nap early we generally hold off untill 12ish, I stall him with a snack.
He then wakes around 2pm for his dinner usually a meal juice and friut
His afternoon snack time has been moved forward to 4pm now
Followed by more playtime or a walk etc
Tea at 6pm
playtime/daddy time
7pm anouther bottle is offered
and 8pm bedtime...
The morning routine for me is the hardest to adjust to I'm no morning person but I have found that the more activities he has done in the day the longer he will sleep the only main structure he has is bedtime and a daily bath the rest you could say he decides...at the moment we only have one child and I'm a sahm so this work's well for us, I believe that encouraging your child's independance and comunication is the key they must respect that you are in charge so to speak therefor when you say tea time it is tea time, not having dinner ready on the table at a certain time, allowing your child to develope in a flexible house hold I think will not hold them back or confuse them but will allow them to embrase change.
Your child is about to have alot of changes making freinds going to playgroup's, nursery then school and high school some even college or univercity they have to be able to cope... without it knocking there self confidance as its not the norm they have become a cutom to.
I say all this from my own experience my mum had a strict household everything was planned but don't you think a bit of spontanuity would be nice too? I love my parents and respect them so much but the way's they had did play a part in me being shy...ok not so much now I rebelled but as a child I found it hard to make freinds, changes scared the living **** out of me.
So I hope what ever way you decide your children sould be raised, you think about the small thing's that can boost/diflate them, just encouraging them to put dishes in the sink, comunicate with your child but also encourage independant playtime.
