Suggested Routine Day

When I had Little e, my mother passed me my Plunket Book. It was carefully covered with a recycled greeting card. I seem to recall that my brother’s matches, but with a blue cover. It is nice to be able to flick through the pages and see that milestones are all the same, even thirty years on. The advice in the front made me chuckle so I thought I should share the “Suggested Routine Day”.


6:00 am Early morning tea for parents. The baby is changed, fed and returned to his cot.
7:00 am Parents rise
8:00 am Breakfast
9:00 am Sunbathe or exercise period for the baby in his cot.
9:30 am Bath and dress baby.
10:00 am Feed baby and put him down to sleep – outside if possible.
12:30 pm Lunch or dinner for family
1:30 – 2:00 Change baby, feed him and put him outside in the pram. Follow this with exercise period in crib or playpen
3:00 pm Afternoon tea and as baby grows older, an outing in the pram. Follow this with and exercise period in crib or playpen.
5:30 p.m Feed baby. Social time and then to bed in a quiet well ventilated room.
6:00 pm Family evening meal.
6:30-7:00 pm Recreation and relaxation.
9:30-10:00 Last feed for the baby. Change and tuck down.
10:00 Supper and bed for parents.

That mum is having a very long day, even if the baby is sleeping through the night. I like that she doesn’t clean the house either. I think we all look back and consider that there was some idyllic time for bringing up children, be it the 1950’s or the 1970’s. I console myself that this virtuous timetable was written at the same time as irreverent ( or even celebratory) songs like this (Miss Smith you will appreciate this one).

My time table is stuck to the fridge. It started as a list of things my mother could do to help when she arrived. I have added to it (in itallics) as I started to use it for myself whenever I had a spare moment. It reads: Meals, Laundry, Dishes, Sleep, Eat, Bathe. Much easier to follow and yes, I do need reminding of the last 3.