Routine.  Ritual.  Often the words are used interchangeably, but they have slightly different nuances.  Routines are every day.  More commonplace.  Things we do at the same time in the same way.  Rituals are special and meaningful, memory builders, if you will.  They have purpose and are carried out with intentionality.  Your child needs and thrives on both.  Here’s why.

Routines give your child predictability, and with predictability comes a great sense of security for your child.  Routines are the defining structure of a day or a week and provide a certain organization that prevents chaos.  They are comforting and reassuring, helping your child know what to expect.

Rituals define us.  They help us bond and connect.  Rituals are enjoyable and repeated shared experiences – a certain way you celebrate life’s happy occasions or that special way you put your child to bed each night.  They contribute indelibly and inextricably to a happy childhood, making for a lifetime of the best of memories.

Here’s a good example of the difference between routines and rituals.  Attending a weekly Kindermusik class becomes a favorite routine, something you and your child both look forward to.  You have a familiar and predictable structure to each week’s class (with a little new coming in with new themes, songs, and activities), and the same wonderful Kindermusik educator year after year.

What you learn in class and the Home Materials you receive then become the inspiration for memorable, heart-warming, bonding rituals at home.  Like the toe-tickle you do each morning to chase away the morning grumpies.  The way you cuddle up and read your Kindermusik story before naptime.  The happy dance you do around the kitchen together when daddy walks in the door.  Or the sweet lullaby that calms and quiets your child before bedtime… the very same one he’ll sing to his own little one someday.

Routines.  Rituals.  They are beautiful things, especially when they are set to music.

Make Kindermusik a part of your weekly – and daily! – routine.  Find a class near you today.

Shared by Theresa Case whose award-winning Kindermusik program at Piano Central Studios in Greenville, SC, has been helping families enjoy delightful routines and special rituals for over 20 years now.