You may be one of the millions of parents who now finds themselves playing the role of substitute teacher. So Newsy did some homework and asked the experts: Should I create a daily schedule for my child?
“Some kids need structure," said Jennifer Jessie, a tutor in Virginia. "Some kids need to know: What time am I waking up? What time am I putting on clothes? Some kids need a little bit more flexibility. So be a little bit gentle on yourself. But kind of set expectations like ‘OK, these are the items we need to get done today,' or ‘These are the items that I want to try to accomplish today.’”
“Routines and schedules are very comforting to children," said Michigan fourth grade teacher Kim Huls. "It's something that they're used to. When they go to school, they know when they're going to eat breakfast if they eat breakfast at school, they know when recess is going to be, when they're going to go to lunch. They know all of those things. It's predictable and it feels safe. And right now, in these uncertain times, I think it's important to create that safety for our children.”
“Children should be allowed, even more so now, to just be themselves," said Diego Román, assistant professor at The University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Education. "Have quiet time to read a book of their choice, to build something with Legos that they want to do, not that they have to. So schedules are good, but leaving also chunks of time that children can be free and play in their own terms.”
