The Princes Trust recently reported that children like structure. And lack of structure is damaging to their future success and wellbeing.
The fourth annual Prince`s Trust Youth Index reveals how one in ten young people feel that while they were growing up they "lacked structure and direction".
Structure included a set bedtime. Children do fight against this, but parents can be encouraged to persist, because children with lower level grades at school were more than twice as likely to make this claim (26%). This increases to 39% per cent among those who left school with fewer than five A*-C grades at GCSE.
Young people with poorer grades are also twice as likely as their peers to claim that they did not have regular meal times (30% compared with 14%). We seem to have got out of the habit of having tea at a set time each day. If everyone knows when the meal is going to be ready, then people will be encouraged to be available at mealtimes.
Martina Milburn, chief executive of youth charity The Prince’s Trust, says "The absence of structure and routine in a young life can have a devastating impact. Without the right support, directionless teenagers can become lost young adults – unconfident, under-qualified and unemployed.” So lack of structure damages the self-confidence and self-esteem of young people, setting them up to achieve less in later life, and find life a struggle.
Children learn things without realising it. A meal on the table at a set time demonstrates planning in action, demonstrates an element of control over one`s life, it encourages a sort of community activity and teamwork.
Young adults without the ability to make deadlines, stick to routines can become unhappy adults. I recall that as a child I thought routine was boring. But now I think that it keeps us mentally healthy. If you have no structure in the day, nothing planned, what is the point of getting out of bed?
So this applies to adults too. I generally recommend setting a fixed time for getting up every day. The next thing is to ensure that we have something interesting to do to fill the time!
The fourth annual Prince`s Trust Youth Index reveals how one in ten young people feel that while they were growing up they "lacked structure and direction".
Structure included a set bedtime. Children do fight against this, but parents can be encouraged to persist, because children with lower level grades at school were more than twice as likely to make this claim (26%). This increases to 39% per cent among those who left school with fewer than five A*-C grades at GCSE.
Young people with poorer grades are also twice as likely as their peers to claim that they did not have regular meal times (30% compared with 14%). We seem to have got out of the habit of having tea at a set time each day. If everyone knows when the meal is going to be ready, then people will be encouraged to be available at mealtimes.
Martina Milburn, chief executive of youth charity The Prince’s Trust, says "The absence of structure and routine in a young life can have a devastating impact. Without the right support, directionless teenagers can become lost young adults – unconfident, under-qualified and unemployed.” So lack of structure damages the self-confidence and self-esteem of young people, setting them up to achieve less in later life, and find life a struggle.
Children learn things without realising it. A meal on the table at a set time demonstrates planning in action, demonstrates an element of control over one`s life, it encourages a sort of community activity and teamwork.
Young adults without the ability to make deadlines, stick to routines can become unhappy adults. I recall that as a child I thought routine was boring. But now I think that it keeps us mentally healthy. If you have no structure in the day, nothing planned, what is the point of getting out of bed?
So this applies to adults too. I generally recommend setting a fixed time for getting up every day. The next thing is to ensure that we have something interesting to do to fill the time!
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