Do you have a good daily routine? Do you know how a daily SAHM routine can benefit your family?
What if I told you a daily routine will benefit your children far beyond the confines of your own household? That a good daily SAHM routine will help your children to succeed in school and in life?
In this post, we will cover the importance of a daily routine – how a great SAHM routine will benefit your children, your family as a whole, and YOU!
(You don’t have to be a SAHM to benefit from implementing a daily schedule or routine. All children need routine and structure.)
How a daily SAHM routine will benefit your kids
Children thrive if they have a solid daily routine in place.
Think about it. You do better when you know what is on your plate for the day. So does your child.
If you have no idea what to expect during the day, you feel a little lost and scattered. You lack focus and the drive to do anything. Children feel lost and scattered as well.
However, that loss and scattered feeling translates to insecurity and anxiety in children.
Consider this:
Emily is a single mother working two jobs just to make ends meet. At the end of the workday, she rushes to pick little Jonny up, feeds him an early supper, and then deposits him wherever he’s going to be for the night. Emily has to head out for her second shift.
Sometimes little Jonny gets to stay home, and a sitter comes over. Sometimes he’s rushed off to his uncle’s house or to Grandma’s.
Emily has a hard time managing it all. She’s busy working, so it’s hard to find the time to line up sitters. And her sitters sometimes bail on her. So little Jonny’s nightly schedule changes often.
Little Jonny starts to develop stress and anxiety. He cries when he sees his mom, he cries when mom leaves. He also starts having accidents during the night, even though he’s been potty-trained for over a year now.
Little Jonny would benefit from a more structured evening routine. Having the same caregiver every night would help him to feel more secure, loved, and important.
A daily routine helps children to feel confident and secure, but it also provides two key ingredients for learning: relationships and repetition.
A daily routine helps with learning
A child’s brain is still developing. Everyday routines can be used to guide positive behavior and social interactions. If a child does the same thing, in the same way, at the same time, every day, then that child can master that skill.
It’s just like learning how to play the piano or ride a bike. New skills take practice and repetition.
Because of this, daily routines can be used to teach our children all sorts of things. For example, a regular family game night teaches social skills by playing games.
You can easily turn everyday moments into teachable moments.
Take story time, for instance. If you read the same book every night, your child will memorize the story. Once you start pointing at the corresponding words in the book, your child can start “reading” by memorizing those words and what they look like.
Your child can learn math skills by counting the toys as he cleans up and subtraction skills as he puts toys away, every day before lunch. Or maybe he counts silverware out as he sets the table before dinner.
Time management
A child doesn’t know how to tell time. So, he uses daily events to break up and manage the day. If you keep the same routine day in and day out, your child will learn that the morning is free play time, and when that is over, it’s time to pick up the toys and then eat lunch.
He doesn’t need anyone to tell him that 1:00 is story time, because he knows stories come right after lunch.
When my kids were little, Little Man A was always asking for a snack. Since he couldn’t tell time, he quickly learned that snack time comes right after rest time. It made going down for a nap much, much easier! 😉
Take a look at this post on how to create a daily SAHM schedule by breaking up your day based on the day’s events.
Before and after
In the same way, children learn “before” and “after”, which are two phrases that come in awfully handy during trying moments.
“You can have a cookie after you clean up the toys.”
“You need to eat your lunch before we go to the park.”
If you do the same thing in the same order, every day, before you know it, you won’t have to tell your child that she can have a cookie after she cleans up. She’ll clean up and then come running to you, asking for that cookie. 😃
Action and reaction
Routines can also help to reinforce the negative. Kids can learn – quite naturally – what happens if they break a rule.
For example, if your rule is that you need to clean up the toys before you go to the park, then your kids can easily learn cause and effect – or action and reaction – if they choose to not follow that rule.
Then they do not get to go to the park in the afternoon, do they? At least, not until the toys are cleaned up. 😉
You don’t have to do any screaming or shouting. They know the rule, they know the routine, and when they choose to test you on it, they will find out what happens next. One day of no park should have them cleaning up in record time next time!
A daily routine creates an internal body clock
Our bodies are easily trained. And if you create a daily routine for your children, it will train them to wake up, go to bed, and get hungry at the same time every day. This can make these troublesome times of the day so much easier, for both you and your child.
Morning routines
I have this thing where I hate to wake a sleeping child. Absolutely hate it. They look so sweet and peaceful laying there. 🥰 And it’s so calm, and quiet, while they are sleeping. I just want to let them stay that way forever.
But it’s better for your child if he can get up at the same time every day; especially if you have to rush out the door for school.
His biological clock will naturally tell him it’s time to get up if he’s used to getting up at the same time every day. So, what I do, rather than wake my sleeping beauties, is start making noise in the house. I open doors, turn on lights, start the washer, make some coffee, etc.
It’s part of my morning routine.
Before you know it, they’re up and at ‘em! Except on the weekends, when I prefer to sleep in….and their biological clock yells “GET UP!!”
Then I regret setting their internal alarm….🙄
Mealtime routines
If you keep a daily routine around your mealtimes, your children’s bodies will become adjusted to that as well.
Serve lunch at the same time every day, and your child’s tummy will start to growl at around that time, making your child so much more susceptible to taking a break for lunch.
And if you have a set routine around what kinds of meals you serve, your child’s tummy will become accustomed to that as well.
For example, if you keep meals light, your child’s appetite will adjust. If you make it the biggest meal of the day, your child will naturally be hungrier during the noon hour.
Nap and bedtime routines
Creating a bedtime and naptime routine will help your child to calm down and to “get sleepy”. You can easily train your child to be tired at a certain time of the day, simply by implementing the same routine every day.
For example, dim the lights, run a warm bath, and play some soft music. When you do this every day, it will signal to your child that it is time to calm down and get ready for bed. Your child’s body will become accustomed to this and will naturally get sleepy.
For more ideas on how to train your child’s body to get sleepy, check out this post!
A daily routine develops a sense of responsibility
Ugh….we all know those kids who just make us groooaan….🙄
They never pick up after themselves. They never offer to help out with anything. And if there is ever a problem, it is someone else’s fault.
You can bet those kids didn’t come from a home that implemented a good, solid daily routine.
Because a regular daily routine can easily teach your children responsibility. Your kids can – and do – internalize a sense of responsibility when it is built into their daily routines. They grow up doing it out of habit, without thinking twice about it.
And they grow up seeing mom and dad do it as well because it is built into mom and dad’s daily routine.
Healthy habits and hygiene
It seems like a no-brainer, but if you want your children to learn healthy habits, like good hygiene, then you have to build it into your daily routine.
Take baths and brush your teeth at the same time every day and in the same order. For some great tips on establishing a bathtime routine, read this post.
If you want to teach healthy eating habits, instill these into your children by building them into your dinner routines. For example, you could serve fruit with lunch every day, and a few vegetables with supper every night.
My mom raised me with a “meat and potato” for almost every supper. Occasionally we’d have pasta or a hot dish, but the core of our meals were ‘meat and potato’.
What this consisted of was a meat dish, a potato dish, and one or two vegetable dishes, along with bread of some sort.
Quite a nice healthy variety, wouldn’t you say? But because that was our nightly dinner routine, I grew up, became a mom, and did the exact same thing. 😉
Chores and responsibilities
Likewise, if you want to teach your children how to be responsible young men and women, you need to make chores a natural part of your daily routine.
This means your children need to have chores to do and you need to have time for your chores. Your children need to see you doing your chores because it will model responsibility for them.
I always do dishes right away after the meal is complete. And one day, my Little Man A wanted to play a game. I told him we’d play after I finished the dishes. He knows this because it is our routine.
But he grinned and said in a sing-songy voice, “Nooo mom, play and then work!” It was so cute; it made me giggle! But it didn’t deter me. We still did the dishes before we played. 😉
My boys also have chores that are a part of their daily routines. As little boys, it involves picking up their toys and dirty clothes. As they get older, I’ll have them help with setting the table and doing the dishes.
My big boys help with nearly everything around the house; dishes, laundry, housecleaning, mowing, garden work, and even burning the garbage. They don’t fight me on it because they’ve been doing it for years.
They’ve internalized it because it’s been a part of their day-to-day habits forever.
A daily routine guides discipline and behavior
If you implement a daily routine for your kids, it will make your job as a mom infinitely easier. This is because a daily routine can guide your children’s behavior, making disciplining so much easier.
A daily routine provides consistency
A daily routine provides consistency and structure in your parenting. It is much easier for you to stick to your guns from within the confines of a daily routine. You can “blame” the rules, or the routine, for being the bad guy!
“I’m sorry honey, I know you want to go to the park. But we can’t until we get the toys picked up. That’s just how it is. There’s nothing I can do about it.”
Strangely enough, your child will take that as a solid truth, if you have always picked up the toys before going to the park.
But if you haven’t, then your child will easily call your bluff – and win! Because it is so hard to stick to your guns when you have a clear pattern of inconsistency.
A daily routine establishes clear boundaries
In the same way, a daily routine sets hard and fast rules. If you do the same thing, in the same way, every day, your child will identify it as a rule, and stick to it. Even if you have never actually declared it as a rule.
When it’s time to go to the park, all you’ll have to do is say “It’s time to go to the park!” and your child will automatically start picking up the toys. This is because it’s been established as a rule in your house, simply through doing it the same way, in the same order, every day.
A daily routine guides positive behavior
A routine sets your kids up for good behavior because they know what is expected from them each and every day. They did it all, the day before; nothing is new today.
Back to the park example… say you have a friend over, with her little girl, and your kids have been playing together all morning. Now it’s time to go to the park. You announce to your daughter that it’s time to go to the park.
Your friend’s little girl jumps up with joy and runs to find her shoes.
Your daughter starts picking up her toys.
Your friend turns to you in awe and comments on what a good mom you are. 😃
I’m not making this up! 😂 🤣 This is my secret sauce!
I get told all.of.the.time. that my boys are so.good. But it’s not because I’m such an amazing mom, I can promise you that! 😂 🤣. It’s because they know how to act, in almost every environment, because of the routines we have established.
A daily routine builds social-emotional health
Social-emotional health is the ‘child’s developing capacity to form secure relationships, experience and regulate emotions, and to explore and learn’, according to the Georgetown University Center for Child and Human Development.
Your child’s social-emotional health is an underlying indicator of academic achievement, lifelong health, and success. Social-emotional health is formed through a strong bond with a child’s caregivers and through a safe, nurturing environment.
A solid daily routine will do both, facilitate a healthy mother-child bond and provide a safe, nurturing environment, as will positive parenting.
A daily routine will build your child’s self-confidence and self-control
Your child’s confidence levels will soar as he becomes adjusted to his daily regular daily routine. This is because kids take pride in knowing what they are supposed to do and then in doing it – all by themselves.
They feel empowered when they can do things on their own, and therefore are less likely to rebel.
You will see an increase in self-control in your child as well because a routine teaches them that they have to wait for a certain time to do a certain thing. Remember my Little Man A with his cookie?
He learned self-control when he had to wait until after rest time to have a snack.
A daily routine reduces stress and anxiety
Daily routines can be emotional regulators. They can decrease stress, anxiety, and conflict. Remember little Jonny? He never knew where he was staying every night. It caused stress and anxiety for him.
If a child has a regular routine, that child can find comfort and security within that routine. He knows what to expect and can therefore conduct himself accordingly. Little Jonny didn’t know what to expect and therefore was not able to control himself. He cried every time mom left and every time mom returned.
Plus, if a child knows what to expect, conflict and power struggles can be eliminated. When your daughter knows she needs to pick up the toys before she can go to the park, there’s no need to fight you on it. It’s just something she is used to doing, every day.
This eliminates that conflict, easing everyone’s stress levels.
A daily routine provides a sense of security and certainty
The world is a scary place! Especially for a child. Think about it – a preschooler has only been on this planet for four short years. Everything is new and exciting!
But everything is scary too.
At this age, “a child’s fear of the unknown includes everything from a suspicious new veggie to a major life change”. 😂 🤣. (That’s a quote I just love!)
But routines offer kids a safe place to develop and master their life skills. They grow in their abilities and in their self-confidence. If something new is introduced to them, they can handle the change best if it occurs within the context of their familiar daily routine.
You and I – we are both more confident and ‘in our element’ when we are in a familiar place, doing something we have done – and excelled at – before. Kids are no different.
When you take us out of that familiar place, we are unsure of ourselves. We are uncertain. And changes – even small, insignificant ones, such as having to stop at a different coffee shop on our way home – can really throw us for a loop.
A daily routine offers stability during stressful times
When a child is faced with a major life change, such as a divorce, he can handle that situation much better if he has a familiar routine to fall back on.
If everything else in a child’s life resembles normalcy and he can continue in the day-to-day routine he knows and loves, he can adjust to this new situation from within a place of love and security.
The routine itself will help him to feel more in control, more loved, and more supported, even though everything else around him seems to be falling apart. He’ll still be able to function and will have a safe place to work through his emotions during such a stressful time.
Routines teach social skills
I worked in a preschool classroom and I absolutely loved how the teacher implemented routines and play throughout the day. If you want to know why play is so important to your child, take a look at this post.
She made room for structured play and unstructured play during the day. The structured play involved specific activities, such as a stuffed animal clinic or an afternoon of board games. These types of activities gave kids the opportunity to work on their social skills with adult guidance.
The unstructured play allowed children to practice what they learned, with little adult interference. Of course, the teacher was there, if trouble should arrive, but it was beneficial to let the children try to work it out themselves first.
You can do the same thing in your own home, by blocking off time for structured and unstructured play. Of course, you need more than one child in order to practice social skills. 😃
So, if you have only one child, you might want to enroll your child in extra-curricular activities or sign him up for some play dates.
Another way routines can teach social skills is by practicing social skills while you are out in public. For example, maybe you get the mail every day at nine. And every day at nine, Suzie, from down the street, is also getting her mail.
You smile and greet her and ask how her day is going. And every day, you tell your daughter to say hi to Suzie. You are using your daily routine to instill great manners and good social skills in your daughter.
Routines help with transition
My Little Man B used to struggle with transitioning from one activity to the next. He needed to know before it was time to stop what we were doing and how much longer he had to finish up. And then he needed to know what was coming up.
So, I often had to give him a warning – “in three minutes we are going to turn the TV off and go outside to play”.
A regular daily routine can help a child transition from one activity to the next as well. I wouldn’t have to give my Little Man B a warning if he knew that every day after Daniel Tiger was done, we went outside to play.
Daily routines can help your child manage his emotions
Children with good social-emotional health are “able to recognize and identify both their own emotions and those of others” and are able to “express their emotions in a positive way”, according to Merete L. Kropp, in an article in the Huffington Post.
Researchers have linked a solid daily routine to the development of good social-emotional health. And children with good social-emotional health can appropriately identify and express their emotions.
If your child can appropriately express her emotions, she will do better in every social situation. This will help her to make friends and get her needs met later in life. It will also help her to be more successful in every situation, such as school, sports, and later, a career.
A routine helps to develop and maintain healthy relationships
These same researchers also linked a good daily routine with the ability to develop and sustain healthy relationships, with both adults and children.
This is most likely because if you have a good daily routine, you are building in chunks of time to spend with your children on a regular basis. Giving your children quality time with you teaches them how to interact, trust and relate to other people.
If children feel loved, valued and appreciated, they can then go out into the world and demonstrate those same qualities. It works the same way for us.
If we feel loved and appreciated, we are more opt to love on others, than we are if we are feeling undervalued and alone.
Fill your children’s cup up!! When it’s overflowing, they’ll share that extra love and patience with family and friends. 😉
If you want to learn more about why the parent-child relationship is so important, check out this post!
Helps to develop a higher attention span
In a world where ADHD is common, I think it is beneficial to point out that regular daily routines can help to develop a higher attention span.
I’m not going to pretend to know the science behind this, so if you want to learn more, read this journal article.
But, I imagine it has something to do with practicing the same daily skills, day in and day out. If, every day, you have craft time after snack time, then your child can practice sitting still, focusing and paying attention to that craft.
Practice makes perfect.
If your child struggles with ADHD or ADD, creating a regular daily routine cannot be your only form of treatment. But it can’t hurt to build it into your treatment plan.
How a daily SAHM routine can benefit your entire family
A stay-at-home mom schedule doesn’t benefit just your children. A regular routine will benefit your entire family!
A daily routine strengthens family relationships
One of my all-time favorite sayings is, “A family that plays together stays together.”
As a young mom, I embraced this thought. My husband and I would play together with our boys every weekend. We’d find something fun to do, either at home or out and about.
And every evening, even now, as all of our children are older, we come together after dinner.
We might play board games, watch a movie, or play Wii as a family. On our really exhausting days, we sit on the couch with a good drink and snap the boys, as they dance to various snap chat filters! 😂 🤣
Build in time together
A regular daily routine can help you to spend time together as a family. You can block off a certain time every day for some quality time together.
Coming together at the end of the day is a long-time tradition for many households, dating back to the good ol’ days, when they used to gather around for a good story or song at the end of a long day.
But you can also start your day off together if the evenings are too hectic. Eat breakfast as a family every morning. Or you can build in whatever is important to you – morning prayer, morning exercise, morning stories or songs.
Create daily rituals
A daily routine also makes it possible to incorporate daily rituals. These are simple things that you do every day, at the same time, in the same order. And they strengthen your family relationships.
Coming together at the end of the day for something fun and relaxing is one such ritual. I often snuggle with my children on the couch every morning, so that is another ritual. And my boys never leave the house without a hug and the words, “Drive safe, be good and have fun!”
(My son’s girlfriend snapped me on my birthday – she said, “Be safe, be good and have fun!” 🤣 🤣)
You can create rituals around bedtime and bath time. You can create rituals around mealtimes. And you can definitely create rituals around celebrations and milestone events.
While you’re building these rituals into your daily routine, don’t forget to carve some time out for you and your better half. My husband and I collapse into bed every night and watch something on Netflix together. We don’t watch TV at all during the day, so this is precious time just for us.
A daily routine creates a calmer household
The kids are happier and thriving, mom are happier and thriving – what’s not to love about a daily routine! 🤣 😂
Stress and anxiety are reduced for the whole family, not just for the children. The children know what to expect on a daily basis, so they aren’t as anxious. They are secure and happy in their routine.
They know the rules and they follow them. This, in turn, makes it easier for mom. She doesn’t have to fight the kids on the rules. Everyone knows what to expect and things run so much more smoothly.
So, if mom’s not stressed out about bad behavior, then the stress level in the whole household is diminished.
And we all know ain’t no one happy if momma ain’t happy!!
A daily routine builds a stable marital relationship
If you create a regular daily routine, you have the opportunity to build in time for you and your better half. You can set aside time to watch Netflix together every night, or you can eat a quiet meal together once in a while.
Finding a way to spend more time together as a couple is important for a healthy marriage. A daily routine will allow you to do that.
Plus, if you have a regular routine, your kids’ needs will be met. Kids who are happy, thriving, and satisfied do not necessarily need mom or dad’s attention 24/7. They are content to play on their own once in a while.
This makes it easier for you and dad to have a real, live conversation! You don’t have children clinging to you and crying or misbehaving just to get your attention.
Being able to communicate with your partner is HUGE to a healthy relationship.
A daily routine teaches family values
Routines and rituals are built around what is important to you. If reading is important, you’ll build that into your routine. If play is important, then you’ll make time for it.
Children will internalize what is built into their daily routine. It will become a part of who they are. So, routines are a great way to teach your children your family values.
Church every Sunday becomes routine and teaches your children your faith.
Dinner together every night becomes routine and teaches your children that time together as a family is important.
Playing ball outside every evening as a family teaches your children that staying healthy and having fun together is important to your family.
When you celebrate certain milestones or events, you are also teaching your children that these are family values.
For example, we celebrate every birthday in the exact same way:
The birthday boy gets to pick out his favorite meal and mom and dad will make that for supper. Mom will make him a very special cake or cupcake, based on his favorite candy or on a theme he’s into that year. And the birthday boy gets out of doing the dishes!
All things we do to show him how special he is (on top of the usual – presents and balloons.)
And we throw a huge party every time a child graduates from high school, as most parents do. This instills the value of education into our children.
How a great daily SAHM schedule will benefit YOU
An awesome daily routine will transform you from that iconic ‘hot mess mom’ to a more peaceful, joy-filled momma.
You’ll have your house and kids both under control again. And you’ll finally get those warm, fuzzy moments you signed on for.
Implementing a daily routine will make you feel like a good mom.
Your daily SAHM schedule helps you to feel more organized
If you have a daily routine for how you run your household, you will remember things better!! Bye-bye mom brain! (Well, almost…). This is because you’ll make it a habit to do the same things, in the same order, every day or every week.
You’ll also feel more organized. For the same reason. Plus, your house will be cleaner and better organized.
You’ll be able to finish your daily tasks more efficiently because you have a set routine for them as well. This means you know what you’re doing and when, and so does your family. They are then used to you doing that and know what to occupy themselves with while you do it.
A daily routine will allow you to build in time for your chores and responsibilities.
This will reduce your stress momma!! 😉
If you’re looking for more information on how to set up a daily SAHM schedule, check out this post.
Your daily SAHM schedule nurtures your emotional and mental health
If you have a daily SAHM schedule, it can help you to feel like you are doing a good job as a mom. No more ‘hot mess’!! You’ll be more organized and in control and your kids will be more organized and in control.
You’ll be less stressed and have those calm, peaceful days to always look back on and remember fondly.
Plus, a routine frees up mental time! 🤣 🤣
One of my favorite things to do is ponder inside my own head. I love to think on different things. And if you have a routine, you can do some thinking, while you do your normal, mundane chores.
This is because you won’t be fretting about what you need to get done or what you are forgetting. You’ll already know, and most likely, already have it done. Or a plan to do it.
If you don’t like pondering 😆 you can use the time for something else, like listening to podcasts or a book.
The biggest benefit of a daily SAHM schedule is that you get to build in time for self-care
We all know that as a mom, you get very little time to yourself. Heck, you can’t even pee alone! 😂 🤣 But you are in charge of your daily SAHM routine, so you get to schedule in some time just for you.
The beauty of it is, if you tend to everyone else’s needs, day in and day out, they’ll get used to you also taking care of yourself. And if their cups are full, they have no need to seek your attention during your self-care routine.
Plus, they’ll know what’s expected of them during that time, because they do it the same way, every day. They’ll take it for granted.
Your kids will think: Mom’s on the treadmill right now? YES!! This is the time I get to sit quietly on the couch on play on my Ipad! Lucky me. 😂🤣
(Need to learn how to find time to exercise as a SAHM? Read this post!)
Do not underestimate the importance of a daily routine
A daily SAHM routine will benefit your entire household. It is not just about making things easier for mom. Routines help children to develop social-emotional health, which is a key indicator of lifelong success and happiness.
Routines help mom and dad stay happily married.
And routines help mom keep her sanity.
More on Sahm Schedules
Three Signs That You Need a Better SAHM Routine
Rockin’ the Sahm Life: Why You Need a Great Stay-At-Home Mom Schedule
3 Quick Ways to the Perfect Stay-at-Home Mom Routine
