I have a confession to make. My daughter is more organized than me. How can that be? She is not even 3.
Was I just lucky enough to get a daughter like this or have I somehow trained her?
I doubt it! It has very little to do with me. You see she goes to a Montessori Day Care Centre where a sense of order and structure is very important.
Sensitive period for order starts from birth and peaks at 18 months to 2.5 years and prolongs to age five. This is characterized by a desire for consistency and repetition. There exists a passionate love for established routines and is when a child may seem disturbed by disorder. The “terrible twos” are often exaggerated reactions to small disruptions in order that is not perceived by adults. The environment therefore must be carefully ordered with a place for everything and with carefully established ground rules. It is also important to have external order as order in their environment where there is an appropriate place for everything as this helps the child also establish their internal order.
My daughter thrives in the Montessori environment because of her intense need for structure and routine. In fact, she has been known to ‘take the class’ of 16 toddlers and repeat the morning routine to the entire class from the morning song to the story to the music lesson. She feels safe because she knows what is going to happen next. The same happens at home and at her Grandparents Farm. She can feel comfortable in every activity because of the established routine.
Image credit: horizontal.integration
But as a parent sometimes this need for routine is painful. Because my husband and I don’t realise we have even established a routine.
Example : As a joke my husband stepped on Dusty’s towel on the way to the shower. She thought it was great fun so asked him to do it again the next night. Bam! New shower routine was created without us realising. It took about 2 weeks to break this ‘routine’.
From the time Dusty wakes up until she goes to bed she experiences constant routines. We as a family have created routines and order for so many activities – the way we brush her teeth, how we get her lunch ready, the way we say goodbye, the afternoon routine and the bed routine. And those routines help us function successfully as a family. They help her feel safe and also develop her independence.
Summer holidays are great! A chance to unwind and relax and forget all about the hustle and bustle of getting ready for school, and rushing home to get dinner started and homework completed. But all children, not just toddlers, need a sense of order and routine.
So when you start thinking about buying new school supplies and new school clothes also think about what routines need to be put in place so your children, or students, have a successful start to the year.
By Ainslie Hunter. For more information on choosing pre-schools, see How to Choose a Pre-School.
I’ve learnt that my youngest loves creating (with Legos) and makes a huge mess. Very much like me.
