What's the first thing your kids do in the morning ?
I came across this recent online article from The Chopra Center titled, 10 Morning Habits to Start Your Day Off Right.
When we intentionally become aware of the little things, like the routines and habits of the morning, we can more consciously and deliberately set the intention for a low stress morning and a successful start to the day. How much more at ease and motivating is it (for everyone in the house) when things run just a bit more smoothly?
In the article the author identified different habits that are easy to implement to encourage a climate right within our homes to meet your best self (and I'd add ... best parent). Making Your Bed was one of them and I thought,"how perfect" for all of us parents who might still be making our children's bed. "Make Your Bed: Tim Ferriss, author and podcast host (The Tim Ferriss Show) has interviewed more than a hundred highly successful people with diverse backgrounds and skillsets, and in a variety of industries. He always asks, “What’s your morning routine?” Along the way, he has collected five habits that he has incorporated into his morning routine, and one of them is making his bed. It may seem like a waste of time, unimportant, or unnecessary (you’re just going to use it again at night), but making your bed is a simple action you can take in the morning that makes you start your day feeling accomplished—and what better tone to set than a sense of pride and accomplishment? Taking charge and completing simple tasks will give you the foundation to take on more and more throughout the day."
Did you know that you're children can start making their beds as early as 4 and 5 years old? Yup! I share the above image because it's a routine chart that I use with my kids and a friend of mine encouraged me to share it with more parents.
I use it to tangibly encourage my children's independence, decision making and responsibility in areas that they are able to successfully complete and positively contribute to our family. Once new routines become habits, then we're able to incorporate other age-appropriate expectations to their "list of responsibilities." You know your family and your children. I invite you to use tools and visuals that meet your child's developmental levels and identify things that cultivate an attitude of "Yes, I can do this." Making the bed is not meant to be another thing on the list that you'll eventually get into a fight about. It's about being honest with yourself on why you want to implement the expectation, thinking through how you introduce/teach it, managing expectations of how it's executed and finally, how you're going to encourage the positive behavior you're seeking on the days they "forget." On the "I forgot" days, we want to tap into our more conscious self and already have a plan on how to make this expectation a relationship builder, not a destroyer. I encourage you to take this week and set an intention on how your family can show itself as a team - working together with its various roles and responsibilities that serve everyone's best self. Leverage the very first part of the day, reflect on the routines and habits that are on auto-pilot and pick one thing you want to change-up. Come up with a strategy on how to change it up and share with all those involved. Have questions? Want to talk out how to tackle this exercise? Let's jump on a call. Drop Me a Note and let's chat! I'm here to support you on your parenting journey. Your best self and parent is waiting! |
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