While many parents may fight against having a consistent routine, there are a million reasons why consistency not only works but provides amazing results. At the end of the day, children are going to respond much better to certain situations, when it is a daily habit.

Hear me out: kids already feel powerless over their lives. They don’t have much say in what they can or cannot do, and life can be stressful on a little brain. The more automatic certain things are, the more control they will feel over their lives. In turn, the things that most parents struggle with can become a habit that your child does without even thinking. Not only will this make your life easier, but it will also make your child’s life easier as well.

Here are 6 consistencies your kids need at home.

1. Bedtime.

If you struggle to get your child to bed every night at a decent time, a lack of consistency likely is to blame. You can blame it on everything under the sun, but when you reinforce the same bedtime each night, the same bedtime routine and the same routine leading up to bedtime, your child’s body will automatically get tired at the same time each night. It’s likely best to stow away electronics and avoid junk food directly before bed as well.

2. Mealtime.

At the beginning of my parenting journey, I would pretty much let my kids eat wherever they wanted and whenever they were hungry. Then, when I asked them to sit at the table and eat at a certain time, they put up a fight at first, because I had never reinforced the habit. After a while of enforcing the same consistent mealtime and place, they soon began to naturally gravitate towards the kitchen around mealtime,

3. Eating habits.

Not only is it a good idea to reinforce the same time and place, but eating healthy should also become routine. No, you don’t have to be perfect with this- but your kids need to be eating from the major food groups each time they eat. The more you enforce healthy eating habits now. The more likely they are to eat a healthy and balanced diet in the future.

4. Discipline.

If you only discipline your child and follow through half of the time, do not be surprised when they don’t listen to you or learn anything. Discipline takes consistency. You have to have the same response to the same behavior each time if you want results.

5. Physical activity.

Do you know those people who go on walks regularly, visit the gym consistently, or at least have some form of daily activity in their lives? Those people do this because it is a habit. The earlier a habit is taught, the faster it becomes second nature.

6. Quality time.

No matter how busy your schedule gets, you should be spending quality time with your kids every single day. When you do, you need to be present and at the moment. Stow away the phone and give your kids your undivided attention.