Instilling daily habits in children from a young age is paramount in building and nurturing entrepreneurs of the future, says Navin Valrani, a seasoned education entrepreneur and CEO of Arcadia Education. Navin attributes much of his success in later life to having a structured routine as a child. Here, he provides the following 10 simple ways to set a routine for children…
Rise and shine
Encourage children to get up early and start their day at least an hour and a half before they head out to school on weekdays. This gives them much-needed time to ready themselves mentally for the day without rushing.
Hygienic habits
From a young age, stress on good hygiene such as regular hand washing and bathing. Children tend to spend a lot of time in the company of others, outdoors and in new environments, so it is essential to maintain good levels of health.
Tuck into a healthy breakfast
Breakfast is the most important meal of the day for a reason. It helps boost energy levels and gets the metabolism going. A nutritious meal provides the added benefit of giving children the vitamins and minerals needed to take on challenges throughout the day.
Spend time on skills development
Though this may not be as routine, it is important for children to make time to develop their skills – be it creative outlets, sporting options or entrepreneurial endeavours. This is sometimes implemented within the classroom. In Arcadia we promote this through our Junior MBA Programme for our primary school children, which leads on to the Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership (CEL) programme for our secondary school students.
A time for homework
While no child warms up naturally to the thought of school work outside the classroom, parents can use discussion-based methods to encourage a homework routine. Discussion is key at Arcadia and our secondary school students benefit from discussion-based learning through our partnership with R.E.A.L. Discussion, focusing on four foundational discussion skills, namely Relate, Excerpt, Ask and Listen, which parents can carry through after school hours.
Let them do chores
Another way to build responsibility amongst children is to assign them certain tasks to oversee. Setting the table, doing the dishes or other such tasks will ensure that they are contributing to family life, and better prepares them for life outside of the home. It also provides them with a sense of responsibility and accountability.
Play time is essential
This is an all-important element of developing social abilities and skills in children. While play dates can be set for younger children, which boosts team-work and communication, it is important to ensure this is seen through the older age groups as well. In a world driven by technology, it is vital that the human connection is valued in the life of a child.
Make reading a must
The best way to build a child’s creativity and diction is to incorporate time to read on a daily basis. There should never be a time where a child can say that he or she is not reading a book. It really is critical not only to be reading, but also to be exposing children to different genres.
Free time
This important aspect gives children the reigns and allows for autonomous thought processes. Families can offer guidelines or suggestions for what might be done during this time, with philanthropic endeavours such being a great option to try out.
Bed time
Children in nursery or school require adequate amounts of sleep to help them relax and reboot their energy levels each day. Given the array of activities they will encounter on a daily basis, getting in at least eight to ten hours of sleep a night will provide them with the rest needed to take on each new day with much gusto.