OK...you knew it was coming. So here goes.
Set one, build in some flexibility, and STICK TO IT!
Vacation is a perfect parallel. No matter how much fun you are having, you know how by the end you want to get home...to your bed, to your house..."back to normal"? Normal is what you know & what you expect.
Normal is the schedule. Deviating can be fun, it can be a special...but you go back to normal and things calm down. Everyone knows what to expect and how to act. Well, now you know the importance of a schedule to kids. A routine is a great way to keep that "normal" in order. When that routine is broken, they are in "vacation mode." Who doesn't break the rules, act crazy and party on vacation? Same idea.
I'm not saying you have to make a strict minute by minute schedule for the whole day. Even for a baby, the regular routine of morning bottle>playtime>morning nap>lunch>afternnon playtime>afternoon nap...you get the idea, is a routine. My nighttime signal was changing into PJs followed by the nighttime bottle...then nighttime..still works to this day. (Just like it is for us parents, right?)
Remember: Set a schedule, develop the routine...Its the key to "normal."
MK
Totally agree! My kids are so much better behaved when they know what to expect!
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