{"id":1295,"date":"2010-03-20T02:03:00","date_gmt":"2010-03-20T02:03:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/characterinkblog.com\/day-seventy-nine-parents-determine-preschoolers-schedule-based-on-preschoolers-needs-and-family-dynamics\/"},"modified":"2015-06-09T10:40:10","modified_gmt":"2015-06-09T14:40:10","slug":"day-seventy-nine-parents-determine-preschoolers-schedule-based-on-preschoolers-needs-and-family-dynamics","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/characterinkblog.com\/day-seventy-nine-parents-determine-preschoolers-schedule-based-on-preschoolers-needs-and-family-dynamics\/","title":{"rendered":"day seventy-nine: parents determine preschooler\u2019s schedule based on preschooler\u2019s needs and family dynamics"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cI got up early this morning\u2014Mom said she barely had her eyes open\u2014and got sent back to bed with books FOR HOURS!\u201d       <\/span>from \u201cJonathan\u2019s Journal\u201d<\/span><\/strong>

<\/span>
One of the most important concepts about scheduling a preschooler\u2019s day is that the parents are the ones who should schedule it\u2014not the preschooler. In our \u201cfeel good; let children be\u201d society today, we often put too much emphasis on what the child wants to do or thinks he needs to do\u2014and not enough on the fact that parents are wiser and more discerning than the child\u2014and probably know his needs better than he does. This is not to say that we did not consider our preschoolers likes\/dislikes\/wishes as appropriate, but we did realize very early in our parenting that our children are given to us because they need someone older, wiser, and more experienced to guide them through the early part of their lives. We would all do well to remember this the next time we find ourselves trying to reason with\/beg\/cajole a child to put on his coat to leave the store. We ARE the parents\u2014for a good reason.<\/span>

<\/span>
In the opening line of \u201cJonathan\u2019s Journal,\u201d we find our sweet, sweet Jonathan going back to bed with books for HOURS! We had a family rule that children did not (a) choose when they would go to bed or (b) choose when they would get out of bed. Obviously, a child is not mature enough to decide how much sleep he needs or when he needs it; likewise, a child in our home never decided to get out of bed at five a.m. and do as he pleased. <\/span>

<\/span>
There are dangers in a preschooler\/toddler running around the house unsupervised. Additionally, we always based the children\u2019s rising (i.e. when they could get out of bed) on our family\u2019s needs. As much as we adored our preschoolers, we always taught our children to consider other people\u2019s needs too. Mom often had babies and toddlers to tend to. Dad was often up in the morning with older children, teaching and discipling them. Thus, our preschoolers (and toddlers) stayed in their beds until they were told to get up. As in the story above, when the child was awake earlier, he could look at books in his bed, or more often than not, listen to talking books and story tapes, as he waited for time to get up. <\/span>

<\/span>
There are key times that you will notice in Jonathan\u2019s day as we progress through this series. These include the following:<\/span>

<\/span>a. Rising time<\/span>

<\/span>
b. Meal times<\/span>

<\/span>
c. Play times<\/span>

<\/span>
d. Structured times (i.e. story time, read aloud, specific play times, time with siblings, time with parents, etc.)<\/span>

<\/span>
e. Unstructured times (free play, outdoor time, etc.)<\/span>

<\/span>
f. Bed time<\/span>

<\/span>

<\/span>
You might wonder if it is really necessary to structure a preschooler\u2019s day as much as we did Jonathan\u2019s (and his siblings). The answer to that is yes and no. Obviously, we had six other children of various ages to consider. In our case, the structure of Jonathan\u2019s day was simply a carry over of the structure of all of our days. Everybody had structured days, to a certain extent. (We homeschool, but we do not have an eight to nine math; nine to ten reading, etc. necessarily; however, we do have blocks of time that are devoted to independent work, working with Mom, chores, etc.) <\/span>

<\/span>
If your preschooler is the oldest one in the family, that much structure might not be necessary. However, children thrive on consistency and predictability. Thus, I recommend as much structuring as you are comfortable with and that works for your family.<\/span>

<\/span>
Tomorrow we will look at maintaining a schedule in our hurried world and a preschooler\u2019s obedience and contentment. We have a jam-packed two weeks planned\u2014so tune in often.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cI got up early this morning\u2014Mom said she barely had her eyes open\u2014and got sent back to bed with books FOR HOURS!\u201d       from \u201cJonathan\u2019s Journal\u201dOne of the most important concepts about scheduling a preschooler\u2019s day is that the parents are the ones who should schedule it\u2014not the preschooler. In our \u201cfeel good; let children be\u201d […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_mi_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[643,308],"tags":[307,267,106,69,310,39,314,311,275],"yoast_head":"\nday seventy-nine: parents determine preschooler\u2019s schedule based on preschooler\u2019s needs and family dynamics - Character Ink<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/characterinkblog.com\/day-seventy-nine-parents-determine-preschoolers-schedule-based-on-preschoolers-needs-and-family-dynamics\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"day seventy-nine: parents determine preschooler\u2019s schedule based on preschooler\u2019s needs and family dynamics - Character Ink\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"\u201cI got up early this morning\u2014Mom said she barely had her eyes open\u2014and got sent back to bed with books FOR HOURS!\u201d       from \u201cJonathan\u2019s Journal\u201dOne of the most important concepts about scheduling a preschooler\u2019s day is that the parents are the ones who should schedule it\u2014not the preschooler. 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