How to Establish a Toddler's Routine

Video Transcript

"Hello, I'm Dr. Deborah Wheeler. I'm the Vice President of Academic Affairs at Argosy University on the Salt Lake City campus. I'm also a clinical psychologist, and the topic today is how to establish a routine for your toddler. This is no easy task with a toddler, and part of the difficulty is that the parent has to have a routine. Only if the parent has a very set routine will the child be able to follow that. That's a big challenge for parents today who are so busy, but the best you can do is schedule your routine to include your child's. Make sure you plan for meal times, nap times. If you're home for dinner at night, make sure you plan for dinner and meals and bath time. All of those things should be part of your routine. The more routine your schedule is, the more your child will follow behind that. It's best if toddlers have the ability to follow your routine, follow your lead. They obviously need that guidance and direction, so set your routine to be supportive of theirs. If you want the child to stick with their routine, you've got to make sure your routine is in place and then don't change it no matter what. That's a very difficult task if you're the one who needs to change your routine for a special event or a night out. But make sure there's a plan for that. The child needs to have similar routines for bed time, nap time, and bath time. That will make your life simpler as well. If you need more information on how to deal with parenting topics such as this, contact us at argosy.edu."