It might seem like just another round of hand-washing, but for a young child, daily routines are a source of learning, writes Jennie Lindon
The daily round with very young children is punctuated by regular routines of care. It is important that early years practitioners and parents feel positively about routines as events that can shape a baby's or child's day in a positive way. Undoubtedly, some days can seem rather wearing and grey, but adults owe it to children to bounce back and be ready to start afresh. We need to share the toddler philosophy, which, if they had the words, would be expressed as, 'It's today now! So what if yesterday was all mopping up and grizzling? Let's move along here!'
0-12 months
Under-ones need a great deal of care in order to thrive physically. But children also flourish emotionally through the personal communication that should be part of changing and feeding routines. Babies relax and are able to be playful when adults create a gentle transition from one part of the day to another, from restlessness to sleep and out of sleep back into wakefulness again.
When you watch and listen, you can observe how older babies begin to anticipate a routine, often with pleasure. They may reach out a hand to share your grasp of the spoon for that helping of mashed apple, or chortle as they see the water ready for their bath, a time that they relish as the splash zone.
1-2 years
Friendly and flexible routines for toddlers offer organisation to the day. Young children like a sense of predictability, but not in a rigid way. Toddlers begin to be able to anticipate routines, like fetching their outdoor shoes when they recognise the run-up to going outside, or finding the cloth when milk has been spilled. Even very young children delight in being part of familiar routines. They want to help with simple tidying up, bringing a tissue or closing the curtains on dark winter evenings.
2-3 years
Two-year-olds can be competent enough to help in getting ready for meals, finding, fetching and carrying, taking a simple verbal message or transporting a written message, for which they feel trusted. This kind of active involvement is a rich source of learning for young children. They get practice in remembering: how we lay the table, where we keep the little watering can and that we don't put 'too much' water in the pots. Young children are able to plan ahead within a short time frame. They think out loud with, 'I put the bricks in the box. Then it's time for a story. Then lunch'. Children can also make choices and feel like decision-makers in some aspects of their life.
Young children want to be helpful. They are keen to be a part of routines that seem mundane to us. Two-year-olds are happy to get out the beakers, wipe the table or hand out the apple chunks. They can use fine physical skills, look with care, understand a simple sequence and, just as important to them, feel proud of what they can manage - 'I was a good helper!'
Rising three-year-olds often show they have a basic understanding of the passage of time, as well as that some events happen on particular days, for instance, Monday is 'library books day' or Friday is the day to pay the milkman.
Tips for practice
- Give time to personal care and daily routines, which may feel easier when you realise that children are learning so much.
- As a practitioner, share this perspective with parents, so they can recognise how their under-threes also learn at home.
- At the end of the day, share with parents highlights from routines and children's helping-out activities.
- Ensure that photographic displays show the routines as well as play activities, and that learning from familiar routines features in examples for children's developmental records.
