Student Wellbeing

Family Routines

Daily routines help families run smoothly. They also help families enjoy more time together.

Routines let your children know what’s important to your family. For example, family rituals are routines for special things your family does regularly. These can strengthen your shared beliefs and values and build a sense of belonging and togetherness in your family.

Why routines are good for children

Safety, belonging and relationships

• Routines can be part of an organised and predictable home environment, which helps children feel safe, secure, and looked after.
• A predictable family life can also help children cope during development changes like puberty or life events like the birth of a new child, divorce, illness, or a house move.

 Skills and responsibility

• Having chores as part of family routines helps children develop a sense of responsibility and some basic skills like time management.
• And when children can do their parts of the routine with less help or supervision, it also helps them become more independent.

 Health and wellbeing

• Routines can help younger children to learn healthy habits, like brushing their teeth, taking medicine regularly, doing physical activity, or washing their hands after using the toilet.
• Routines can help children feel less anxious or sad during difficult times.

What makes a good family routine

• Well planned: Everyone understands their roles, and sees their role as reasonable and fair
• Regular: Good routines become a part of everyday family life
• Predictable: In good routines everything happens in the same order each time. Everyone knows what to expect for the day.

Toddlers and preschoolers: ideas for daily routines

For toddlers and preschoolers, you could have routines for:

• getting ready in the morning
• eating meals
• spending time playing and talking together
• reading books or telling stories
• having a bath and going to bed at night.

School-age children: ideas for daily routines

For school-age children, you could have routines for:

• getting ready in the morning and going to bed at night
• doing after-school activities like hobbies or sport
• doing chores – for example, setting the dinner table, unpacking the dishwasher, helping with the laundry, or caring for pets
• doing homework.