Daily Routine of My School Going Kid

I know every kid’s routine is different, and every house has its own routine. But in our house, everything is very simple and easy-going. Since we don’t go out on weekdays or have late-night dinners or parties, our routine is comfortable for us and for the kids, too. We all follow a strict 6 am to 8 pm routine in our home. Since we live in a nuclear family, following this routine becomes very easy for us. But if you live in a joint family or if your parents or in-laws come to stay with you, then the routine changes a bit. Because we all know, when someone comes to our house, especially elders, we like sitting with them for hours, only to talk and share our feelings with them. Even at this time, I make my kids follow the same routine and make them sleep by 9 pm. But I miss my routine at this time and still have to get up at 5 am to prepare lunchbox and breakfast. If I was not able to have a good night’s sleep of 7 hours at night, I try to take a quick nap of 10 minutes in the morning after breakfast or after lunch. I personally feel that following a healthy routine is essential for all of us, especially children, to lead a healthy and peaceful life. Sometimes it may feel boring, but that’s ok. You can enjoy and party on Saturdays and Sundays. And my son is very disciplined in terms of all these things. He follows his timetable perfectly, and sometimes when he doesn’t like it, he tells me. That day, we do something interesting or something he likes, and then he becomes very happy. And we like to enjoy only on the weekends because there is no timetable on these days. We can do whatever we want at whatever time we want. Our breakfast, lunch, and dinner timings become clumsy, and all the other timetables change on weekends since we go out on both days to have some quality time with each other.

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Since we live in the UAE, schools here start very early, and my son’s school bus comes at 6.40 am every day in front of our house. Since my son is in grade 1 now, his school timings are from 8 am to 3 pm, but he comes by 3.45 pm. There will be 2 breaks in between the school hours to eat food. One small break of 10 minutes at 9 am to eat a snack, which is usually fruits, and one long break of 30 minutes at 1 pm to eat lunch. Before, when he was in KG2, his school time was a little different. It was from 8 am to 12 pm, but he came home by 12.30 pm. And there also, he had two small breaks to eat food. One break of 20 minutes at 9 am to eat breakfast and one break of 10 minutes at 11 am to eat a snack. But there is no use of these breaks for my son because he never finishes the food that I pack for him. He always leaves some portion of them behind. He is actually a very slow eater, so he tells me that he didn’t get time to eat his food. That’s why I don’t put anything that he doesn’t like in his lunchbox, or the food that becomes difficult for him to eat, like upma, rice with curry, or any wet items. I make different types of snacks for him in the morning so that he eats his food properly in school, like pancakes, appe, egg semiya, poha, vada, idlis, dosas, macaroni, cheese sandwich, roti with jam or peanut butter, black chana chaat, chickpea chaat, potato cutlet, egg roll, and different types of fruits, so that he eats them easily like a snack. Sometimes, if he liked it or if he was really hungry, then he would finish his lunchbox. Otherwise, he eats only half of the food, and that’s why I feed him again some fresh food when he comes home at 3.45 pm.

Here is a detailed Routine of My Kid in a Day:-

Waking up and getting ready for school from 6:00 am to 6.15 am: –

This is the toughest time for me in the entire day to wake up my kid as he doesn’t like to wake up early in the morning. But this also doesn’t mean that he likes to sleep more because in holidays or on weekends, he wakes up at 7 am or 7.30 am, even though he sleeps late at night. Normally, in holidays or weekends, people try to take more rest, but my kids are very different. They wake up early in the morning and don’t even sleep after lunch. They play and play and sleep only at night. My daughter is also the same. Though she is only 3 years old. She also doesn’t like to sleep much at night or in the daytime. This is because of the habit or routine that my kids follow every day to get up at 6 am for school. Their food and sleep cycle are fixed. And if they don’t get food on time or sleep on time, they become irritated, their eyes become small, and they look weak. We also wake up on Saturdays and Sundays early, like we used to wake up on weekdays for school, unless we are very tired or not feeling well, only then do we sleep a bit more. I actually want to sleep more on weekends, but I won’t know what happens my eyes automatically opens around 5am every day. But since we do our fajr prayer in the morning around 5.30am, we get up anyhow and sleep again if we are really tired or start the day normally.

To wake up my son every day in the morning, I sit beside him and slowly move my hand around his head and tell him slowly to get up and get ready for a new day. He slowly opens his eyes and enjoys this movement of our bond together. Sometimes, when I am very busy in the morning, I just come to his room and tell him to wake up fast, in a normal tone.  When I do this, my son becomes sad. He wakes up with a sad face and looks at me silently without saying anything. I understood that he missed my cuddles that I do every morning to wake him up. Looking at him like this makes me feel guilty, and I go and hug him, telling him that we don’t have enough time to get ready, and that’s why I was not able to pamper you like every day. That one hug brings his smile. He silently blushes and hugs me. I believe that if a person starts their day with a good and happy mood, they will be more energetic and positive for the rest of the day.  Everyone loves to be pampered, and kids love it a lot. He feels very happy and gets up after 5 minutes of pampering and positive energy every morning. He goes straight to the bathroom, brushes his teeth, and takes a bath. It takes only 10 minutes for him to brush and bathe by himself. I help him to iron his uniform, comb his hair, and then give him one glass of water to drink on an empty stomach. Sometimes I give warm water or ginger honey tea, if he has throat pain or a cough.

Breakfast and Morning duas from 6:15 am to 6.40 am: –

My son eats a very light and quick breakfast within 10 minutes and puts on his shoes and socks. Sometimes he doesn’t like to eat anything. That time, I give him one fruit, one boiled egg, or any type of dry fruit. I don’t feed him till his stomach feels full. I normally feed only half the quantity of breakfast that he actually eats on normal days. Or else he has a habit of vomiting on the bus if his stomach is full. This is normal because no one likes to eat heavy melas as soon as thy get up from bed and that too when they are in hurry. I see many parents giving milk in the morning before their kids go to school. I don’t understand how kids can digest milk early in the morning because my kids feel heavy and get stomach pain if I give them milk right after waking or on an empty stomach. That’s why I give milk to my kids in the evening, around 5 pm. And many kids don’t like to drink plain milk at all. They need some kind of mix in it, like Complan, Horlicks, Boost, badam mix, or plain sugar to make it tastier. But we never gave these types of drinks to our kids.  Because we believe it has so much sugar content in them than all those vitamins and minerals written in the ingredient lists behind the package. We give them plain milk without adding anything, though they don’t like it. Sometimes, I add a pinch of turmeric and black pepper powder if my kids have cold and cough. We tell them to drink it slowly so that they don’t get stomach pain. I feel the same way when I drink milk or milk coffee in the morning. Till my son eats his breakfast, I pack his lunchbox, arrange his school bag, wear my abaya, and get ready to go down with him for the school bus. In his lunchbox, I usually put fruits, breakfast and a healthy homemade snack. While going down and waiting for his bus, he reads his morning duas that are the dua for journey, ayatul kursi, surah Fatiha, surah Naas, and surah Falaq.

Bus journey from 6.40 am to 7.40 am: –

His bus comes around 6.40 to 6.45 am. Sometimes, when it’s rainy or foggy, they come very late, around 7 am. But they inform you beforehand by message that they will be 15 minutes late due to fog or rain, so that we don’t stand outside for such a long time and wait for the bus. Here in the UAE, a parent or a guardian should be present with the kid who is below the age of 11 years during the time of pick-up and drop-off according to the school bus transport rules. They will never allow the kid to enter the school bus or leave the school bus without his parents or guardian present there. And every kid has a bus ID, too. It is just like a normal school ID card with a QR code to scan in the bus when they enter it, and also when they leave the bus. Since school buses have to pick up so many kids, it takes one hour for them to reach the school and come back from school. If we had a private transport or our own car, then we would reach the school in 15 minutes because the distance between the school and our home is only 15 minutes. My husband cannot drop my kid off at school and then go to the office, as both routes are very far away from each other, and it would take more than one hour for my husband to go to the office after dropping my kid off at school. And I don’t have the driving license to drive my kids to school. That’s why we opted for a school bus. And my son also enjoys his bus journey. He tells me he doesn’t like to come in a car; he likes the bus because there he has so many friends and he can play with them on the bus.

School hours from 8.00 am to 3.00 pm: –

Since my son is in Grade 1, he comes home by 3,45 pm as his school timings are from 8 am to 3 pm. Before, when he was in KG 1 and KG 2, he used to come home by 12,30pm as his school hours were from 8 am to 12 pm. Before, I thought that since his school hours have increased a bit, he may feel irritated or miss home. But the opposite happened. He feels happy about this, thinking that now he has grown up into a big kid and he wants to go to grade 12 as soon as possible. I wonder why the opposite happens with everyone. When we are young, we want to grow big and strong, and now, when we are already big, we want to be small, young, and happy again, just like we were when we were young kids. Elders think kids’ lives are happier, more peaceful, and filled with fun. Kids think elders are happier as they are independent, strong, making money, and commanding others. According to me, both roles have their own struggles and happy phases. Kids struggle with studies, parents’ taunts, comparisons with others, and many other problems due to their innocence and young age, while elders struggle with finances, jobs, careers, goals, responsibilities, family disputes, property matters, taunts from bosses or partners, long working hours, and many more. Being happy with what you have and how you are is the only way to stay happy with your life.

On some days, my son doesn’t like those long school hours and so much of studying and writing. He easily gets tired, irritated, and frustrated. He tells me he likes to go back to KG2 as the school hours there are short and there was very little to write and more to color, paint, and draw. I know it’s normal, some kids love to go to school, study, do activities, and meet friends, and some like to be at home, study less, and enjoy being with family, friends, and siblings. I was wondering what he would do if he were in India. The school timings there are longer, more stressful, and very strict. My son has already studied nursery and KG1 in India. And he hates those school experiences when I ask him about his school and teachers in India. He told me that the teachers there beat him with a stick when he was not able to spell a word, and the school in India is also very small. And Abu Dhabi schools are good as the teachers don’t beat, only scold, and the schools here are very big. I was really shocked when he told me the teachers beat him there in India because he never told me before when he was in India. Sometimes he used to come home with a sad face and teary eyes. When I asked him what happened, he always told me that he was not feeling well and his friends were also not playing with him in school.  After his KG1, when he got his holidays, he told me about the teachers and how they beat him with a stick on his hand.  It hurts a lot when your small kid gets beaten or scolded by others, and that too when your kid tells all this with frightened and sad face. It hurted me too, but I was not able to do anything as we were already in the UAE at that time. I understand studies are very important, but at that time, he was not physically fit to do everything perfectly. He was going through recurrent fevers, typhoid, admitted in hospital 3 times, and dengue all in the span of one year. And the teachers already know all about this as I already informed them time to time. Only, I know what my son went through in that whole year. We were all literally crying and sad each and every day due to all these health issues, and I was also 5 months pregnant with my second child that year.

Now that my son is in grade 1, all his studies have become a little difficult for him. Now he has oral tests, written assessments, practice worksheets, projects, competitions, dictations, and so many assignments. He also has so many subjects and classes like English, Math’s, IT, EVS, Islamic, Arabic, Hindi, MSCS, Music, Art & Craft, Dance, GK, PE, Library, and STEAM. Each class is for 40 minutes, and they have one small snack break for 10 minutes and one long break of 35 minutes for lunch. Since his lunch break is long now, he usually finishes his food on time. Sometimes when he doesn’t like the food, he doesn’t finish it completely. He eats half of the portion and leaves the rest. On Fridays, the school hours are from 8 am to 11.30 am for all grades from nursery to grade 12. So, on every Friday, my son comes home at 12.00 pm. And the best part is that every Friday is a bagless day in his school, where kids don’t bring their bags or books to school. They only take their lunchbox and water bottle. And they only do activities in school like painting, crafting, music, dance, games, etc. These bagless days were not there in KG1 and KG2. It started in grade 1. But no matter what kids’ study in school, we parent still need to sit down with the kids to make them practice, do homework, or help them study.

School bus journey from 3.00 pm to 3.45 pm: –

Since my son comes by school bus, it takes 40 minutes for him to reach our home from school as the bus stops at many homes to drop off kids. If we had private transport, it would only take 15 minutes, but the traffic around this time is so much that parents who come to pick up their kids from school have to wait in line in the car for many minutes and wait for the school buses to go first. And the heat is so much around 3 pm that if you sit in your car and wait for a long time, you start feeling suffocated and tired. That’s why we chose school transport as buses have an air conditioning system, they are safe for kids, kids have friends to play with, and the buses are big and not congested at all. The kid will have some air to breathe and some place to play. Before we were planning to opt for private transport, and I was planning to drop my son off at school in a car, but my son clearly said no. He told the car is small, boring, and has no friends to play with. So, we listened to him, though school transport is a little more costly than dropping kids off in our own car. It costs us around 500 dirhams every month for both pick up and drop off. You can also opt for only one, too. Either pick up or drop off. If you choose only one, then it will cost you 250 dirhams per month. So many parents drop their kids off at school in the morning when they go to the office and opt for school transport to take their kids back home in the evening.

Lunch, screentime, homework, and playtime from 3.45 pm to 6.00 pm: –

After coming home from school at 3.45 pm, my son first goes to the bathroom, washes his face, hands, and legs. Changes his uniform and drinks one glass of water. Till that time, I unpack his school bag and wash his lunchbox, water bottle. My daughter feels very happy and energetic when her brother comes home. She starts talking to him, playing with him, and annoying him a lot. And my son loves to be around us all the time. He tells my daughter and me to play with him and cuddle him. He says he missed us in school and felt sad. This cuddling goes on for 10 to 15 minutes, and then we sit for lunch. Since my kid doesn’t eat a full meal in school, I feed him a little food after he comes home, along with my daughter. After that, my kids watch their favorite cartoon on TV, and I also eat my lunch that is my second meal of the day.  After my lunch around 4.45 pm, I sit down with my son for some time to do his homework. Only if he gets any homework or assignments, I make him do or else my kids play together happily with toys and other things till 6 pm. Around 5.30 pm, I give them one glass of milk, and I drink my green tea. Sometimes, around 5 pm, neighboring kids come to our place to play or call my son down to play in the car parking area with them. If my son doesn’t have any homework, assignments, or exams, then I send him down or allow his friends in the home to play. Or else I send them back, telling my son has homework and he is studying. I send him down usually on weekends and holidays. Or I take my kids to the nearby park to play with other kids on holidays, weekends, or on Friday night. Because Friday is a holiday for his Arabic class, and also since the next two days sat and Sunday, are weekends.

Online Arabic class from 6.00 pm to 6.30 pm: –

For the last 6 months, we have started online Arabic class for our son. We believe religious books and teachings are also as important as English studies. Before, I thought my son was too young for this, as he would not be able to study both English and our religious book, the Quran, at the same time. But after some time I understood, the earlier we start introducing religion into our children’s daily routine, the more they will learn about it. In India, we find so many madrasas and teachers who teach the Quran to kids. They are very easily available. We can either send our kids to the masjid or to their home to learn, or we can even call them to our home at a specific time to teach our kids. But here in Gulf countries, all the mosques and madrasas teach everything in Arabic, which our Indian kids don’t understand easily. So, we thought of online classes for his Arabic teaching. Actually, I can also teach him Arabic, but the problem is that with me, my son doesn’t sit seriously as he does in front of teachers. He takes me lightly and doesn’t concentrate. But now, even after his online Arabic classes, the teacher only tells him what to read and gives homework. I have to sit down again with him to practice and do his homework. His Arabic class is for 6 days a week, and on Friday he has a holiday. The teacher sends a Zoom link for the 30-minute meeting. We just sit with the phone with the audio on during the meeting to read the Quran. For these 30 minutes, I should also sit with my son, as he doesn’t concentrate if left alone with the phone. Since the teacher is on audio only, my son takes it lightly and doesn’t focus at all if I don’t sit there.

Arabic revision and study from 6.30 pm to 7.00 pm: –

After the 30-minute class, I still continue teaching Quran to my son and make him practice his homework as we don’t get time to do it the next day. After some practice, if his school homework is still left, I make him do it. Or if he has an exam the next day, I make him practice that. I just make sure that my son enjoys studying and learning. I laugh and play with him a little during studies. However, sometimes I cannot control my anger and scold my son when he doesn’t study properly. But after that, I immediately comfort him or give him a break of 5 minutes so that my anger and his fear cool down. Whenever I get very angry, I just close the books and go away from that room. This is my way to control the anger. After a few minutes, I come back again and sit with my son to study with a calm mind. This half an hour is only between my son and me. My daughter stays and plays with her father at this time. Of course, she comes in between to disturb, but I send her back again to her father, as disturbance in studies causes loss of focus.

Dinner and screentime from 7.00 pm to 8.00 pm: –

After 7 pm, I close all the books and keep all the toys away to eat dinner and sleep. If some homework is still left, I make him do it early in the morning when he gets ready for school. Because the earlier my son goes to bed, the easier it will be for him to wake up in the morning. For one hour, we all have our dinner and watch some TV together. I actually enjoy watching TV with my kids. Because they watch some good, animated movies and sometimes real Hollywood movies about dinosaurs and other animals. I don’t understand why many adults don’t like to watch animated movies. Trust me, they are more worthy to watch than any other movies of any category. The lessons they teach and the examples they give of real life are really amazing. I used to watch a lot before my marriage when I was a teenager. Afte inmarriage I didn’t show much interest in them as I thought I had become an adult now and should not watch animated movies or cartoons as they are for children. But now, while watching with my kids, I understand those animated movies are for everyone. Me and my husband don’t have dinner at this time as we already had our second meal of the day around 6 pm.

Bedtime routine from 8.00 pm to 8.45 pm: –

My kids finish their dinner by 8 pm or sometimes by 8.15 pm. After dinner, they go to the bathroom, brush their teeth, and change their clothes. Till that time, I remove all the plates, clean the floor, and make the beds ready. By 8.30 pm, they go to their beds. I sit or sleep beside them and make them read the bedtime dua and have a 5-minute talk. My son likes to sleep with his toy cars beside him, and my daughter likes to sleep with her stuffed toys beside her. My son’s bed is completely different, but it is right beside our big bed. It is a single bed with a single mattress. Since my daughter is small, she sleeps with me on our bed. By 9 pm, both my kids go into deep sleep. After they sleep, I get up, wash the dishes, clean the kitchen, prepare some things for the next morning, offer my prayer, change my clothes, give buttermilk to my husband, soak my chia seeds in water, and go to sleep by 9.30 pm. Sometimes I finish my work by 9.15 pm, and sometimes it crosses 10 pm, when my husband and I both sit down to talk about some important stuff.

In conclusion, a balanced daily routine helps a school-going child maintain discipline, manage time effectively, and achieve success in academics as well as personal development. Proper study habits, physical activity, healthy meals, and adequate sleep together contribute to the overall growth of a child. I believe in this very much. However, sometimes you may not be able to follow everything perfectly, and it’s completely normal. Sometimes you may have guests at home, sometimes you may need to go outside, sometimes you may have to go to a party, and this happens to all of us. So, if you are not able to follow the routine sometimes, don’t blame yourself or others. It’s ok to break the routine sometimes, or else life becomes boring.