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Building Routines for School-Aged Children
Contributed by: Jasmin Lloyd
Building a routine for school-aged children has several benefits. Your child is now required to attend a school, which is a system built on expectations and structure. Therefore, creating a routine at home should be centered around school, and any extracurricular activities your child is involved in. Since my stepson has been in elementary school, my husband and I have built his morning and evening routine based on school start and end times, choices for aftercare, and his extracurricular activities which are
soccer, and Taekwondo.
In this stage of childhood, it reinforces independence. In toddlerhood, children crave independence and freedom. The all-too-familiar tantrums are rooted in wanting to tie their own shoes or pour their own cup of juice. Somewhere on the brink of teenagehood, this thirst for independence begins to wither away (especially in boys). The teeth they desperately wanted to brush on their own at aged 3 are lucky to see toothpaste without a reminder at 12!
Having a robust daily routine creates opportunities for your school-aged children to begin to practice independence. When my stepson was about 10, we gave him an alarm clock and taught him how to set it so he could wake up on his own in the morning. The first few weeks were a struggle; however, with practice using the alarm clock became essential to his morning routine.
A drawback to consider when building a routine with a school-aged child is falling into the trap of structuring every moment of their day. It is important that this stage in child development (especially
teenage years), children have a sense of freedom or downtime to explore their interests.
Crafting a routine that does not provide any opportunities for this, can lead to children feeling a lack of control over their own need for exploration. For my stepson, his routine allows opportunities before bedtime to watch TV, use his iPad, or whatever he chooses to do with that time. He has about an hour or two before bedtime. The amount of time can vary based on your child’s age.
Sample Routine for a School-Aged child (approximately ages 5-13)
- 6:45-7:15a Wake Up/ Make Bed/Brush Teeth/Wash Face/Get Dressed
- 7:15a-7:45a Eat breakfast (Depending on the age, you can provide options that they can prepare
- independently.)
- 7:50a Walk to Bus Stop /Take to School
- 4:30p Pick Up from Aftercare/ Home (Most aftercare programs allow opportunities for the children to do
- their homework. If your child comes home afterschool, be sure to build in time for them to do their
- homework within the first 30 minutes of getting home)
- 5:00p-6:00p Basketball practice
- 6:30p-7:00p Eat Dinner
- 7:00-7:30p Check HW/Finish HW (If homework has been checked or completed, this time can be added
- into free time or family time.)
- 7:30p-8:00p Free Time or Family Time
- 8:00-8:30p Brush Teeth/Shower/Layout school clothes
- 8:30p Set Alarm/Say Prayers/Bedtime
