Childhood development and well-being is influenced by the cultural, physical and family aspects of the environment. Routines are a contextual element involving predictable patterns of behavior that provide structure and order to the household environment. Trending changes to the family unit as well as busy lifestyles and technology have insidiously influenced family and child routines. Therefore, the use of routines influences the environment and childhood development and well-being. Within the occupational therapy literature, there is a paucity of articles on family routines and their relevance in childhood development. This lack of information indicates a need for knowledge dissemination in this area to inform the profession to meet the needs of families and society. This capstone project is a manuscript for submission to the American Journal of Occupational Therapy (AJOT). The topic of family routines aligns with AJOT’s guideline for topics that examine the relationship and patterns of engagement in occupations to childhood well-being and development. This manuscript describes the evidence for the relevance of routines and explores strategies that facilitate the establishment and sustainment of three routines subtypes: mealtime, bedtime, and homework.
