How to find your flow – the benefits of rhythm over routine during the summer
It’s summer and the routine you’ve worked hard to establish all year might feel like it goes out of the window, what with lighter nights and countless ice lollies ruining your regular mealtime structure.
But we are here to tell you that it’s ok to have your routine go out the window during the summer and, actually, thinking about it a little differently might help you all to enjoy a memorable summer together.
When we have children, we are often told that children love routine, but while children do thrive from a degree of predictability, it can often be better for everyone’s wellbeing if you adapt more to a rhythm rather than routine, particularly during the summer when your usual classes have stopped, the weather is warmer, and you might want to spend more time outside or away from your home.
What is the difference between rhythm and routine?
Rhythms are usually more flexible, adaptable, responsive and intuitive to other factors, whereas routines can be rigid and predictable. Sometimes we can feel a level of dissatisfaction or sadness when something goes wrong in our regular routine, and it can feel stressful!
How can a rhythm benefit a child?
While children can thrive from a more structured routine, implementing a rhythm means that you can make more space for quality time and playful opportunities. Rhythm can give you some structure while keeping the flexibility you and your children might need during these summer months to adapt to some of the external circumstances in the world around you, such as lack of groups to attend, holidays being booked and hot weather.
How can I support a rhythm for my child in summer?
It’s normal for things like sleep to go awry during the summer because our bodies are programmed to follow the natural cycles of light and dark. Your child is likely to be waking earlier and wanting to go to bed later. Recognising that and adapting to it as part of your rhythm can make everything feel less stressful. It might be that you let them play outside till later or involve them in making your dinner, before putting them to bed a little later.
There are other things you can do to embrace the change in the seasons, such as recognising that your child’s eating habits will likely change, and they will more likely want to have more frequent, lighter meals. You can embrace this by trying to eat more seasonal fruits and vegetables or making a grazing lunch box at the start of the day that they can revisit as much or as little as they want.
Engaging in more outdoor activities that match the weather, such as swimming, hiking, biking, or picnicking can help support your child’s circadian rhythm (your sleep and wake pattern), as it can help your child build up more sleep pressure (which is needed to fall asleep), which in turn helps them to nap and sleep at night.
Finally, and most importantly, the temperature change can actually make lots of us feel more lethargic and groggier (including our children). So, be responsive to this in the moment and where you all need it. Take time to relax and recharge! You could do this by reading a book together, listening to music, cloud-spotting, meditating, or having a lovely family nap!
Ideas for establishing a rhythm
There are a few ways that you can start to think about establishing a rhythm to your days. Here are our top tips.
- Think of things you want to accomplish in the day or week but be flexible about when that happens.
- Be adaptable to changes in the weather and have our app open and ready with play ideas should there be an out-of-the-blue rainy day.
- Recognise that sleeping and eating is going to be different during the summer, just like it is for you. Changing your mentality towards nap times and bedtimes can make it feel less stressful for you all.
- Embrace the fine weather, longer days and opportunities to eat ice cream whenever we fancy. It will soon be winter, and we will be longing for these longer evenings and feeling the warmth on our shoulders.
