Parenting: What do your morning and evening rituals look like?

In the last two years I seemed to have returned to my roots, working more and more with troubled adolescents and their families. Additionally, our kiddos are entering the adolescent phase of life with one on the verge of teen-hood in her second year of middle school and the other in his last year of elementary school. Needless to say we are in the thick of all things adolescent with more to come.

One of the needs I’ve noticed in the families I work with is the lack of morning and evening schedules or what I call rituals. In our home, the kids get up between 6 and 6:15 am on school days (on their own I might add), get dressed and brush teeth before coming downstairs, make their lunches while Megan does breakfast and I make coffee. They eat, pack their bags for the day and are out the door around 7:20. Evenings vary greatly by activity, but usually include dinner, some family TV time, homework, reading, and the kids getting ready for bed around 8:30 including pjs, brushing teeth, and anything that may need done last minute for the next day. After that, they may read a bit more and then Megan and I go into their rooms around 9 to pray with them and tuck them into bed.

This is how our mornings and evenings go on most days. We feel like this gets the kids around 9 hours of sleep (most study’s say 9-10 hours is optimal), and it provides regular structure. What about you? What are your families schedules, routines, rituals, or rhythms? Share what your family does on a nightly or semi-regular basis.