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Earth’s Cry & Children’s Routine
Children’s Routine
I’m discerning my vocation for some time and I currently feel very called to the marital vocation and learning a lot about motherhood.
One thing that sticks out to me, in particular, is how children need a daily routine/schedule in order to feel safe and reach their fullest potential and that daily routines/schedules change as children get older and more children are added to the family.
How can parents of many children across the age spectrum create an orderly daily routine/schedule that balances homeschooling and indoor/outdoor chores or play while also meeting their spiritual (prayer, the Sacraments, service outreach, etc) and social/emotional needs (social activities, outings, etc)?
God bless,
A.O.
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TIA responds:
Dear A.O.,
We commend you for making an effort to learn the duties of the state of life to which you believe you are called.
You are correct in the importance of a daily routine and schedule. Certainly, this will be different for each family, but in general the day should be centered around praying the Angelus and the three daily meals.
Chores and schoolwork are typically best done in the morning or early afternoon hours, whereas recreation and amusements are best reserved for the evening after the work of the day is finished.
Young children should have some time for play, but should also have duties to fulfill around the house. Even toddlers can perform simple tasks such as helping in the kitchen or cleaning the floor. Young children also need time for at least one nap in the day, after lunch being a common time for most families. When the younger children nap would seem to be the best time for the older children to work on their school work.
In our view, the duties that should take priority are those that regard the management of the household. Therefore, the house should be clean and ordered with all outdoor chores attended to before beginning school work.
In a wealthy or even middle class family of the past, servants would be present to help with the management of the household, leaving the children more time for study, music or handicrafts. Today, most traditional mothers are left all alone to run their households. For this reason, the children should help their mother and she should make it a priority to keep perfect order in the house. A child who lives in a disordered ambience is receiving less of a formation than an uneducated child who lives in a poor yet ordered home.
The best time for prayer is the morning and evening. Children should be woken up early enough for them to say a few minutes of prayers before commencing the work of the day. The recitation of the Rosary as a family is usually best done in the evening when the father is home, and there should be a few evening prayers to prepare the children for bed.
Some traditional families, in their eagerness to be holy and raise up their children to be saints, can have long extended night prayers that wear out children and adults, and often make some children dread the evening prayers. It is better to have a short routine that is consistent, something that is prayed every night. Special prayers for special intentions can always be introduced, but even these should not overextend the night routine.
Sundays should be held in great respect, with the parents impressing on their children the duty of honoring God on that sacred day. Children should be taught to love Sundays as the best day of the week when they can receive the sacraments and assist at Holy Mass, where they must be expected to behave reverently.
If possible, very young children should not attend Mass but stay at home under the care of an older sibling. In Europe such practice is very common, to the benefit of the entire congregation attending Mass. If not possible, if children misbehave or do not sit still at Mass, they should be punished (and if necessary, taken out and corrected), so that they learn how disrespectful such behavior is to Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament.
In like manner, children should be punished for misbehaving during family prayers. Having a special Sunday meal, taking a family walk, or playing an outdoor family game helps to make the day joyful for all.
Regarding social activities and outings, we believe these should be few and reserved for weekends and feast days. The modern family, even the traditional homeschooling family, is constantly out of the home going from one activity to the next. This leaves the home cold and empty, whereas it should be full of warmth and life, a sanctuary for all the children to return to when they must go out into the world.
For this reason, every member of the family – but most especially the mother – should strive to beautify and perfect the home in its outward appearance and household activities. To have a vibrant home life full of daily tasks and delightful pastimes is more beneficial to a child than participating in a variety of activities outside of the home and spending time with friends. In fact, there are countless stories of good Catholic children being corrupted by bad friends because the parents did not take special care to regulate their children's social life.
If children are instilled from an early age with a sense of duty and obedience to a schedule, they will be able to easily adapt their schedules as they get older, following the good habits they acquired in their youth. The burden on the mother of regulating the hours of the day will thus be lessened and all in the household will follow the same routine, varying it as circumstances require.
These are considerations to help you in your discernment of the married state.
Cordially,
TIA correspondence desk
Posted July 10, 2025
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The opinions expressed in this section - What People Are Commenting - do not necessarily express those of TIA
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Salve Maria!
Pope Leo XIV celebrated his "Eucharist" for the Care of Creation. He only used the word "Mass" twice - the rest of the time, he used "Eucharist" - "we are celebrating this Eucharist". More and more, progressivists are trying to undo the propitiatory sacrifice of the Mass.
His main message was "peace and harmony," and how it is sin that causes natural disasters, global warming, etc...
Some excerpts of his homily follow below.
In Jesu et Maria,
S.B.
"Our mission to protect creation, to bring peace and reconciliation, is his very mission: the mission the Lord has entrusted to us. We hear the cry of the earth, we hear the cry of the poor, because this cry has reached the heart of God. Our indignation is his indignation, our work is his work.
"...There are some elements that truly help us continue our reflection this morning, sharing this peaceful, family moment in a world burning, both because of global warming and armed conflicts, which make Pope Francis's message in his encyclicals Laudato si' and Fratelli tutti so timely.
"With infinite love, the one God created all things, giving us life: this is why Saint Francis of Assisi calls creatures brother, sister, and mother. Only a contemplative gaze can change our relationship with created things and help us emerge from the ecological crisis caused by the breakdown of relationships with God, with our neighbors, and with the earth, due to sin (cf. Pope Francis, Encyclical Laudato si', 66).
"I wish to conclude these thoughts by entrusting to you the words with which St. Augustine, in the final pages of his Confessions , unites created things and man in a cosmic praise: O Lord, 'your works praise you so that we love you, and we love you so that your works praise you' (St. Augustine, Confessions, XIII, 33, 48). Let this be the harmony that we spread throughout the world."