School is back in! Get dressed! Where are your shoes?! Do you have your lunch box? Here comes the bus! HURRY!!! …if this sounds like exactly what you said on any given day of the first week of school, well—you’re not alone. Obviously…because we nailed it, right?!

So do yourself a favor and create a routine. It doesn’t have to be complicated, with every detail worked out. Just having the basics down pat will make life easier and everything will follow, including keeping yourself and the fam on track for dental visits.

Let us explain…

Benefits of Having a Routine

An article on WebMD makes many fantastic points on this. They go pretty deep into the subject but let’s hit the highlights.



1. Less Stress—of course! The simple truth is that having a routine for all the basic stuff you and the kids need to accomplish every day (like brushing and flossing!) makes everything else life throws at you so much easier. When everyone knows when to put their shoes on in the morning, and then where to put them at night so they aren’t looking for them the next morning…it just…ahhhhh…makes sense. This cuts down on those completely unnecessary moments of panic and rage. 
2. Better Sleep—oh, yeah….we all want that. Need that! With a routine in place, the mental static and thoughts racing through your head will fall away. And you’ll be able to lay your head on your pillow knowing that the next school day will start with an organized and predictable morning. 
3. Happier & Healthier—with a routine that fits your life, you can feel better about carving out some time for yourself and some downtime for the kiddos. We all need a little break. It’s really important for your mental health and promotes good moods among the masses (depending on how many kids you have, we suppose). Playtime can be part of the daily routine, making everyone happier to be enjoying the benefits of a job well done. Which is way better than one person running around yelling and screaming about undone chores while another one cries because they can’t play their video game or ride their bike.

Tips for Making a Routine

Routines are great for kids because it gives them a sense of security. Day to day, that statement might seem a bit dramatic. But—when unusual circumstances arise, a routine promotes calm in the chaos.

Green Child Magazine recently published an article on this very subject. They have a few tips when you’re working on creating a back-to-school routine that will actually work.

• Have a routine for the three most important times of the day: Morning, home from school, and evening. The beginning of all these different times of the day is a great way to re-boot. Especially when you’re getting into the back-to-school groove.
• Put a written schedule where everyone can see it. We all need reminders, even us parents. Plus, you can get creative and make it something fun to look at, all while saying in your serious parent voice “This is what I expect of you.”
• If you have more than one child, create a unique schedule for each of them. Not only will this accommodate each one’s personality and tendencies, but on a much more basic level, it keeps everyone from trying to brush their teeth at the same time. Which as we know, is every parent’s nightmare.