How a Baseball Game Became a Routine Game Changer

Last spring, we had the opportunity to go to a minor league baseball game with some family.  The girls came along and it was the first game they attended that they could actually remember.  They had a blast!  They cheered, played, watched (a little…) and participated in all the crowd cheers.  Their favorite cheer was, “EVERYBODY CLAP YOUR HANDS!” (clap, clap, clap, clap, clap, clap, clap….)  (If you have no idea what I’m talking about, you can watch this video and hear the cheer in the background.)

After that game, they’d randomly shout out that cheer in the middle of the day and then clap themselves silly.  This went on for days.  After a while, my husband and I began to put other silly words to this cheer.  “Everybody get in the van!”  “Everybody get dressed!”  “Everybody go to sleep!”  Our little chants didn’t always fit well, but they were fun anyway and the girls thought we were hilarious.

Finally, we came up with a phrase that fit perfectly.  “Potty, jammies, brush your teeth!”  And it STUCK!  The game we attended was a year ago, but the bedtime routine has been forever changed.  When it’s time for bed, Mommy or Daddy will shout out, “Potty, jammies, brush your teeth!” and the girls get moving.  The rhythm of it sets them in motion and since it’s easy to remember and they also say it, they don’t forget any of the steps in the bedtime process (most of the time, anyway).

Just recently, we added a morning routine in the schedule.  Although it doesn’t fit as well with the rhythm, I still say it in a sing-songy way so they remember it.  It goes, “Feed the dog, switch the laundry, practice piano!”  Saying it this way cements it in their minds.  We started this routine on Monday of this week and by Friday, they were doing it on their own.  They know the chant, so they easily follow the routine.

It’s funny to think how much that one baseball game changed how we “do” routines in our home, but I’m so glad it did.  It’s more fun for the girls and less stressful for us parents when we can get through those more stressful times of day with a smooth routine.

What do you do in your home to establish a solid daily routine?