The Positives of Routines and Rituals

4 April 08

Your preschooler thrives and grows in an environment that includes repetition, routines, and rituals. These events provide great opportunities for your preschool-aged child to try out more complex social interactions and positive behaviour patterns. If playing simple board or card games is a family ritual at your house or a familiar part of her preschool activities, your child is learning many social interactive skills such as turn-taking, helping others, sharing, waiting, and following rules.

Routines and rituals help your child understand time and the flow of the day based upon the order and structure of repeated activities and events. The expectation of the closure of an activity becomes more important as she starts to internalise the structure of the activity—what comes first, second, third, or last in its sequence. If your child is close to four, you may have noticed that she appears to be thinking ahead to the next activity. This is because she has mastered the skill of internalising the sequence of the activities.

Does your child ever pretend to be a Wiggle, Dora the Explorer, a superhero, or a fireman? Preschoolers love to imagine, pretend, and play! Pretend play bridges the gap between your child’s real life experiences and creative thinking. When you create rituals around an element of play, your child will enjoy even the most mundane routine. The most treasured rituals are with people we love, inspiring creativity, fun, and laughter!

Tips for fun rituals

· At least once a month, make time for an activity your children enjoy like a day at the beach or bike ride to the park

· Get your children to suggest something they’d like to know about you or your family – for example, your childhood or how you and your partner met – and make it part of a mealtime conversation

· Look through old photo albums so your children can find out more about your family history

· Gather suggestions for mealtime conversations, perhaps from the newspaper or the day’s events

· Allow family members to take turns offering ideas for family activities each month

· Take turns including friends in your family traditions

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