Help
With Your Rule
Is a Rule Possible With Young Children?
Dear Holly
I can see how a Mother's Rule can work when you have older children, but I can't see how it will work with my young children. I seem to have so little control over when things happen, and often feel tossed about by the cries of the baby , the demands of the toddler, and the mischievousness of the preschooler!
Labels: 4th P Parent
posted by Holly at 8:36 AM
2 Comments:
Yes, a Mother's Rule is possible with young children! When I began my rule, my children were 9 months, 2 yrs, 4 yrs, 6 yrs and 9.
The secret to working with young children is, first, to take advantage of natural lulls and routines -- you already have 3 mealtimes, at least 1 nap time, a waking up and bedtime routine of some sort. You probably already have a story time, a snack time, a video time. Thus your day is naturally divided into segments already. Fine-tune these natural routines by working through your questions. I found my children calmed down when they knew what to expect next - so establishing these things as the norm truly helped.
Secondly, when you need space to pray or do some "Mummy only" work, the key issue is "How can I keep them safe and occupied for that 15-20 minutes so I can get this done?" It could be many things -- a snack of crackers and juice at the table, highchair & playpen; a playroom with a gate up; a fence around an outside play area; an educational video at a certain time every day; a lock on all the doors in the hall so no one can get into rooms they don't belong in!
They key is to still work through your 5 Ps, enlist the help and ideas of your husband, and focus on the essentials.
One last point - I was always helped by getting up earlier than the children and having some quiet time with the Lord - time to 'just be me', without interruption. Here, I'd ask him for strength and the ability to focus on my children & home in a peaceful way.
I'm a mom of eight children ages 11, 9, 7, 5, 4, 2, 1 and 8 weeks. I've been scheduling for years. The "Rule" has helped to put it in a Catholic context and change my focus to more spiritual matters. That said, I think a Rule is an absolute necessity with small children. It is not as haphazard as you think. As Holly said, they already have times that they do things like eat and sleep. Now you just need to fill in the rest. Children thrive on routines!
Leslie
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