The Covid-19 pandemic is a good excuse to teach valuable life lessons.
One of the most important things you can learn as an adult is the value of routines. This is something we are taught from an early age, by simply living our lives. When we are children, we are taught to respect our schedule. We wake up at the same time, go to school, come home, do our homework, and go to bed. This routine is what makes our lives work.
The problem is, we don’t set this routine ourselves. We are forced to adhere to this schedule. So in times like these, some of us feel very lost because nobody is telling us where to be, and when to be there.
To me, this is a very valuable opportunity. You can take this time to teach your children the importance of setting their own routines.
No matter what your schedule, its important to know how to set your own routine. On weekends, when you have to cram a lot into two days, or at nights when you get home from work and have to manage your household, a routine is very helpful.
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As a general rule, children don’t like to adhere to routines, but they require stability. The more stable a child’s day-to-day life is, the easier it is for them to succeed. Teaching them how to set their own schedules right now will ultimately make them much more productive adults. But what does this look like?
Encourage them to go to bed and wake up at the same time every day. Invite them to decide when they want to do their homework, but make sure they personally put it on their schedule and hold them accountable for it. Perhaps put their ‘screen time’ directly after their ‘homework time’ as an incentive. The important part is that your child has a hand in when they do things, but also that they commit to doing those things at the same time every day. If you can get your children setting their own schedule and taking accountability for their own time, you will both be happier in the long-run.
That being said, make sure your children also make time for fun. I suggest two-hour long blocks of free time, interspersed with their planned activities. Even though we are surviving through a global health scare, children should still be children.