...including human biology!
Sometimes people fear that more order in family life will create extra stress.
Take Linda, for example: “I feared that following a plan would end up causing us to get less done during the day. But, to my surprise, we actually get more done…and with a lot less stress!”
We have seen such improvements in family life over and over when parents discipline themselves to follow a set plan for getting things done during the day.
MEALTIMES: As you know, meal times can be scenes of conflict and endless correction. But it doesn’t have to be that way. Instead, mealtimes can and should be times of harmony and personal growth. Here are a few things to promote order at the table.
- Make sure everyone is seated before proceeding with the meal. In a childcare environment, doing this before washing hands really helps.
- Almost everyone at some level understands that food is ultimately a gift from God. To pause before eating to offer a prayer of thanks, then, is quite natural and reinforces order at the table.
- Regardless of the kind of meal being served, a table leader needs to signal ‘first bite’ before anyone eats. This instills respect for the meal and everyone else at the table.
- Asking for seconds is kept orderly by the simple raising of a ‘quiet hand’ that awaits a response from a supervising adult.
- In the same way, getting excused from the table also uses a ‘quiet hand’.
POTTY TRAINING: Order is the key to potty success as well. We hardly ever ‘break a sweat’ over potty training because of how we ‘order’ that situation.
- Beginning at 18 months, we put all children on the potty right after lunch and again right when they wake up from naps, thereby gently training their bodies when we would like them to eliminate. Believe it or not, as their bodies learn the rhythm, their major eliminations tend to come closer and closer to that regular time.
- Then, it’s just a matter of helping them learn to ‘feel it coming’ and how to respond appropriately.
So, here’s the challenge. Exercise your leadership. ‘Just do it!’ You just may be writing the next grateful testimonial!
