Children and routines ...

[cherryglitter]

jake needed a routine, he likes being in a routine.
if it's 'broken' so to speak he really gets miserable. he got himself into it though!x

 

[Laura2919]

I always say a routine is good, you cant force a routine as thats never going to be good for you and your child/children but you can work with a routine and adapt it to how it suits. I wouldnt of been without mine, I planned going out around them so they were fed before I went and would need feeding while we were out so we would stop for lunch, I always made sure I had a bag packed plus washing, ironing, cooking cleaning, you need routine. I always made sure the girls napped at the same time and that they always went in their cots, they never slept in a buggy for more than 10 minutes which would mean they would wake up and be miserable, in their cots they would sleep for 2 hours. They had 3 naps a day until 6 months when it changed to 2 and then at 19 months they started having just the one long nap.
Every day our routine will be pretty much the same, at the weekends I am much more relaxed. I never say 'oh the girls are always in bed at so and so time' Thursday just gone my SIL got married and they were awake until 9pm and then Chloe woke up at 12am until 2.30 when we went to bed and then slept for 5 hours the next afternoon, then they went to bed at 7.30 and then the next day was my dads bbq and had another late night but tonight it all goes back to normal, they know that and I know that and if we dont have anything on bedtime is between 6.30pm and 7.30pm. They know because I set it young and continue to work alongside it. It doesnt always go to plan but most of the time I like to stick to it.

 

[tallybee]

There is no one-size-fits-all approach in any part of life IMO... some people will thrive on what others can't stand. Personally we have loose routine, always have done. Not so rigid that it dictates everything, but solid enough to ensure everyone appropriately eats, sleeps and is clean...

 

[Janidog]

The only routine we have is, Lo goes to bed between 6/7pm and on the days where LO goes to nursery in the afternoon then he has lunch at 12, other then that we don't have a routine.

My LO had to go to nursery for a whole day once, and the nursery asked what his routine was, and I said 'LO might have a nap any time between 9.30-11.30' and milk 'Any time between 9.30-11.30' They like the fact that if he sleeps he sleeps, if he doesn't then its not then end of the world

 

[Natsku]

We have no routine but I'm going to try and help Maria get into a nap routine now to see if it helps her night sleep as she is sleeping so badly she's pretty miserable when she's awake.

My mum always proudly tells me I had no routine though, and I remember never having a set bedtime but I've always had sleep problems and I sometimes wonder if that could be because there was no proper pattern to my days.