Rules and schedules for little ones

Domestic Felicity: Rules and schedules for little ones

Great advise. There is no reason for mommy to be up at all hours waiting for little ones to fall asleep. Nor for her to never know when nap time will occur.

Many behaviorial problems would be solved with a simple schedule. children, like adults, like to know what is going on, what is expected from them, and what is coming next. When you have a schedule, they are much more secure. Habit works just as good (and often better) than discipline.

I have heard the comments "I don't know how you do it" because of my eight children. It's simple; I let the children know what to expect from me, what is expected from them, and what the consequenses are. My first took a lot of training. The others have just kind of picked it up along the way (with a little bit of reinforcement here and there.) We go to a fair, the rodeo, or a store, for example, they have been taught from the start they are to keep their hands to themselves and follow daddy. I walk in back and make sure no one wonders off or touches anything. This takes no more than a simple reminder occasionally.

Though I do spank when necessary, it is much more affective to just get them expecting that housecleaning comes after breakfast, then school, lunch, school (play time for little ones), naps, play, clean up, supper, reading then bed. Even a 1 year old can predict what is coming next and look forward to. We have no bedtime battles, and never have had. I decided what bed time should look like for a toddle when my oldest was 7 months old and just simply began to do that every day right then. She has never known any other way to to live and never faught me about it. (Of course, occasionally things happen to prevent our normal routine, such as the rodeo last night, but kids are tough and handle occasional interuptions without a problem.)