Not following a daily routine might harm my baby?
Hi mums,
I am a bit worried because soon I ll go back to work, I have requested to work reduced hours and maybe they ask me to work one day 8:30 till 12:30 and the next day 13:30 till 17:30, that means that the baby will have to be those hours at the child care, so she will not be able to follow a daily routine which I read is so important for babies and children for emotional security and development. Could you kindly give me your opinion about taking the baby alternative days, morning or afternoon to the childcare? And if you think this change of routine everyday will affect her? Do you think that it would be better for example Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday in the morning and Thursday and Friday afternoon?
Thanks a lot!
Mum A.
Category: Your Questions
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Hi Mum A,
I am not a mum but I am a child psychologist, and thought I would give you an opinion from a child development point of view.
I think its great that you are so concerned about this and speaks volumes about how you are trying to create a safe and secure environment for your child to develop in.
You're right, the ideal is that children do have a stable routines in environment to help them develop emotional stability, as well as within a range of other areas. It helps children understand their environment and predict what will happen next.
There a range of things to take into when considering a child's adaptability to routines account too, including:
1) age of the child
2) emotional ability of the child
3) developmental ability of the child
4) overall environment
Bearing these factors in mind, should the overall environment of the child be reasonably stable and there are no developmental concerns, then most children are reasonably resilient to changes in their routines. I would advocate for trying to create as much structure as possible and therefore the Mon-wednesday, Thurs&friday structure seems most appealing. Furthermore, attempt to create 'mini-routines' that help the child predict what is coming next. It is also important to bear in mind that the child may need some extra 'TLC' doing the transition period, particularly at the times of change. Also, should your child be old enough and with a good ability to understand I would suggest actively involving them with the planning and preparation around the changes, such as setting up a weekly calendar with them, or preparing them the night before.
I hope this helps!
With best wishes,
Stephanie
Dr Stephanie Satariano
Child and Educational Psychologist
V.I.G. accredited Guider
Here you will find some comments related to baby routine. I hope it helps. http://www.circleofmoms.com/stay-at-home-moms/how-important-is-having-your-baby-on-a-routine-450017
IF you can fit small routines e.g always have meal times together at 6 pm it will still help. Also maybe a bedtime routine or if the child is old enough speak to her before bedtime about where she will be with whom etc the following day so she has a kind of expectation. Creating a small picture book on how the day will look like to her and 'reading' it to her before bedtime usually helps