Weekdays and weekends....

Parents often ask if their child can learn the difference between week days and weekends. This is usually asked because there is some thought that perhaps this little person could learn to sleep longer at the weekend. Unfortunately children don't learn to alter their sleeping pattern depending on the day of the week, until they are teenagers. At that time there are other forces in play.

Routines are very important to children. These are the touchstones of a child's life. Having some certainty that meal times and play times are regular events help the child to understand what the adults expect and desire of them. If we look at our own lives we have some routines which may not be recognised as such, but which make our lives easier because they add to our own understanding of the world.

Yes, children can often recognise that on one or two days of the week parents are not away at work, that there is family time, and that at the weekend the day runs along different lines. They don't know that this is Saturday and Sunday. The basis for a good sleep pattern cannot be adjusted and then readjusted in so short a time frame.

Family time can be positive for those who have difficulties with food refusal or fussiness. At weekends there is usually more time and children who have demonstrated food refusal or fussiness can be involved more in the preparation of foods. There is more time to spend exploring textures and tastes and this can be a positive re enforcement of the enjoyable and sociable aspects of food.

Simple things like teaching a child to spread butter, applestrop, or cheese on bread encourages them to explore texture and taste and encourages a level of independence. Helping to set the table at meal times, to wash the vegetables, and to see how cooking is done and how that changes the food being cooked ,can help develop an interest and make it more acceptable to try a new taste or even experience a familiar one.

If you would like support and advice regarding sleep or fussy eating,
Contact us on;- info@dream-angus.com