Comments on: Let’s Talk: Rhythm and Routines When Life Changes – What Works for You?

By: AnnE

AnnE — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 02:07:01 +0000

I have to say I am not one to read parenting books but I rcently bought Simplicity Parenting and it is excellent. It talks about all of the extra stuff in our lives and how we really need to simplify to meet the authentic needs of our children. If there is too much stuff happening, too many things on the agenda, too many toys, books, etc… it can really inhibit our children’s ability to be who they reaaly are. My son thrives on routine while my three daughters are much more willing to go with the flow and adapt to change. But I notice in all of them the safety that they feel when they know what to expect. So I am trying to simplify everything, talk less, listen more, live in the moment and hopefully let each one blossom as slowly and surely when they are good and ready.

By: Stacey

Stacey — Sun, 28 Mar 2010 13:10:13 +0000

We have had no new major upheavals in my family since my accidental baby was born two years ago (right after I turned 42). However, my five and eight-year olds just started baseball (with completely different schedules) and my two year old is hit or miss with naps these days, so our lives here are pretty hectic! My recommendation is …. SOUP! I make all kinds of soup and freeze it. I also make my own pasta sauce and baked pasta dishes and freeze them too. The slow cooker is also a time-saver in the afternoon! A quickly prepared dinner is my road back to my schedule. Instead of prepping dinner, I can play with my kids in the backyard or finish homework and baths in time for dinner and movie night. And if I have to rush a child off to a 5:30 practice or game, at least I know he or she has something substantial in their tummies!

By: Kristen

Kristen — Sun, 28 Mar 2010 11:41:01 +0000

We’re finally settling down after a busy fall with a move (that was multi-stepped as we waited for our house to be finished) and starting our oldest in preschool. When everything was up in the air, I too found sticking to as many as our rules and routines as possible was necessary. Throughout, bedtime was 7-7:30 and one story was read before bed, healthy food (I wouldn’t even call them meals at points in this journey) was provided every few hours to keep everyone’s blood sugars from crashing, and Mom and Dad’s Rules Reign. The last one was hard because we spent weeks at family members houses waiting for our new home. With so many adults around, the kids naturally would get confused about who was in charge. We just reminding everyone “Mom and Dad’s Rules Reign.” Since our rules are familiar, it helped our children and us stay sane in this process.

By: jill

jill — Sun, 28 Mar 2010 01:36:06 +0000

We just had a new baby and now that she is four months old, I feel like we are finally getting back into our routine. In the interum, I tried to keep the basics of bed time the same, to go to our two day time activities every week and to keep my son’s before-school ritual constant. Now we’ve re-integrated outside time after lunch (now that the weather is better) and quiet time with stories and a snack after that. The boys seem to breathe easier when we keep these regular things in our day.

My boys wake up between 5 and 6am, so I don’t try to wake up before them. In fact, since the baby often doesn’t go down for the night until 12 or 1am, I don’t wake up until 7am most mornings. I find it easier for me, as a night hawk, to get things ready and have some calm time the night before. I just take a few moments to get myself centered before I get out of bed to get breakfast.
.-= jill´s last blog ..Just For Laughs =-.

By: se7en

se7en — Fri, 26 Mar 2010 21:02:57 +0000

We have had a few new babies arrive and “disrupt our lives” in the most delightful way – as they do… I keep a pile of favorite picture books handy… We do have a fairly fixed routine and I don’t change it for anything… But when a newborn is hungry (desperately, starving!!!) I have found it better to just sit wherever we are, nurse the baby and read a favorite story, and pick up our routine fifteen minutes later. Of course the best thing to completely toss a routine out the window – is not the laptop (just leave it in another room!!!) it’s the telephone. While you are nursing a newborn, which actually takes two hands, you cannot keep a toddler engaged while you are on the phone and your whole home can fall apart in seconds. If you can’t just leave it to ring without thinking “who is it, what if… what if it’s really important and completely stressing yourself out.” Then turn off the sound – because actually when your life is upside down you need to “be out, out of reach” while you gather yourself. I am loving the comments here!!!

By: Jan (Family Bites)

Jan (Family Bites) — Fri, 26 Mar 2010 14:33:57 +0000

I find that the rhythms of our family are almost always determined by how I adjust to change. If I’m organized and well adjusted so is everyone else. If I can adjust to the ebb and flows of life, so will everyone else. For us this just means that I change what I need to to keep things running smoothly and everyone else kind of follows suit naturally. Like Cheryl, I’ve been waking earlier, walking earlier, showering earlier and feeling more motivated in the morning and that energy feeds my family and gets them going. I’m not sure how long it will last, probably until a new routine is required, but after ten years of parenting I’ve learned that how I respond to change really impacts how everyone else does too.

By: Jennifer Jo

Jennifer Jo — Thu, 25 Mar 2010 21:00:17 +0000

Just last week I shook things up here. Spring was springing and I decided a change was needed. I called the kids and told them we would do half our school work at bedtime and the other half in the morning, thus freeing up the second half of the morning for garden work/outside frolic time. We're back to a normal schedule this week, but those three days were a much needed breath of fresh air. .-= Jennifer Jo´s last blog ..Whoopin' it up =-.

By: Annie

Annie — Thu, 25 Mar 2010 19:38:05 +0000

We are in a very busy season right now, as well. We’re a Navy family and my husband was supposed to leave today to go to a school in Connecticut (we’re in Georgia) but didn’t because we’ve had 3 large problems with the house in the past week and (thankfully) he’s fixed them. So, tomorrow he’ll be on the road. The kids and I (6, 4, and 2) are staying here until mid-May and then traveling up the coast to New York to visit family for a few weeks. Once my husband is done with his school we’ll be caravaning from NY to Washington state. Lots of upheaval!

So, when life is chaotic and doesn’t seem like it’s going to settle for a few months…I make it an adventure. We’re taking 2 weeks to drive the 17 hours it actually takes to get from GA to NY. We’re stopping along the way and seeing things, having down days, and exploring what’s around.

Normally, though, I try to read my children’s cues for routine and rhythm. We, as the adults, set the schedule, but we listen to what our kids tell us. My husband is famous for saying “when their ears close their eyes are soon to follow.” That’s why we keep a bed time routine that sticks pretty close to the same. Our kids are in bed long before some of their friends…but that’s a priority to us. We put them first, in part, because it makes life so much easier for us!

Ok, enough going on and on…great post!

By: Kara

Kara — Thu, 25 Mar 2010 18:04:58 +0000

“establish a new normal” – I love that!
.-= Kara´s last blog ..Let’s Talk: Rhythm and Routines When Life Changes – What Works for You? =-.

By: Kara

Kara — Thu, 25 Mar 2010 18:03:57 +0000

Cheryl, I agree – sometimes just making a positive change for myself is enough.

Making sure that *I* get some morning alone time, get enough rest, eat well … those things affect my attitude and if I can hold myself together, we get through the rough or busy patches of life smoother.

One of my mentors says she gets up early because she doesn’t like that “shot out of a cannon” feeling in the morning and I SO agree. I’d much rather start the day with peace and quiet and something warm to sip in silence than “Mooooom, I can’t find my socks!” or “He’s touching me” Those moments will come, of course, but I face them with better humor when that isn’t the first sound I hear.

So glad you’re enjoying this series!
.-= Kara´s last blog ..Let’s Talk: Rhythm and Routines When Life Changes – What Works for You? =-.