I think children need rituals. A daily routine helps families connect. It brings children comfort. Children love rituals — a routine with meaning. Daily rituals give children a sense of securtiy. I believe if you create daily routines within your family, you'll create lasting memories.
We have several daily rituals. And we strive to stick to them. Obviously, life will throw you curve balls and your daily routines may be disrupted (children also need to know how to deal with change), but generally speaking… we keep with these routines the best we can.
Starting Our Day Off On The Right Foot
We have breakfast together, even if it's a shake for my husband and myself, and a cereal bar for my son, we share it together. Weekends or days when there's no school, we enjoy preparing and cooking breakfast together. And more often than not, you'll find us drinking Tropicana Pure Premium Calcium+ Vitamin D. It's 100% pure and natural juice, never from concentrate. No sugar, water or preservatives added… just pure freshness. Tropicana Pure Premium is 100% Pure Florida Orange Juice
For those that know me, know that my son has never drunk a soft drink. He only drinks milk, water, and juice. The only juice we buy is Tropicana, because I feel good knowing it's all-natural. It's like drinking a glass of sunshine!
Why I feel good giving my son Tropicana Pure Premium 100% Pure Florida Orange Juice:
- Tropicana is the single largest buyer of Florida fruit, purchasing approximately 11.6 billion oranges from Florida each year.
- Tropicana’s roots in Florida go back a long way. Some of its current grower relationships date to the 1960s.
- Tropicana uses groves in 22 different Florida counties, primarily in central and southern Florida.
- The different microclimates and soil types mean that fruit reaches peak maturity at different times, allowing Tropicana to harvest ripe fruit throughout the entire growing season.
- Many Florida growers sample oranges by cutting them into a cup shape, allowing for drinking juice directly from the fruit.
- Oranges have been grown in Florida since the 1560s, approximately 147 years before any other U.S. state.
- The two major orange types in Tropicana Pure Premium are Valencia and Hamlin. Valencias typically have more intense color and flavor, while Hamlins can be sweeter. They each add unique characteristics to the TPP blend.
Tropicana has a great sweepstakes going on, too. You can enter the Tropicana sweepstakes for
a chance to win 100 Florida prizes, including one-year-supplies of
Tropicana (in the form of twelve 59 oz Tropicana Pure Premium
containers) and a trip to Florida to visit an orange grove. There will be Ninety-nine winners who will
get a one-year supply of orange juice in the form of twelve coupons for
(12) 59 oz Tropicana Pure Premium® containers.
And one winner will get a trip to a Florida orange grove and invite three
(3) guests for a Round-trip airfare for four (4) to Florida, three (3)
night stay at a Florida hotel.The winner will have an exclusive
experience at a Florida orange grove. How AWEsome is that?!?! For official rules and regulations, visit the “sweeps” tab on Tropicana’s Facebook page at www.Facebook.com/Tropicana.
Be sure to "like" Tropicana's Facebook page!
Now for the other two rituals we maintain in our home…
The Family That Dines Together
Studies have shown that families that eat dinner together have children that are less likely to have destructive behaviors. It improves communication. Not to mention it's more nutritious. Because if you're preparing and eating dinner at home, it is more likely to be healthier. Teaching your kids better eating habits. We sometimes allow our son to drink Tropicana Orange Pineapple (his favorite flavor) with his dinner, instead of the usual water.
The important thing is we are sitting down to dinner together as a family. And in today's busy world, that's not always easy. We try to do this at least 4 – 5 times a week.
Once Upon A Time
Read. Whether I read to my son, my husband reads to my son, or my son reads himself… every night a book (or part of a book) is read at bedtime. This ritual has been a part of my son's life from the beginning. Even before I gave birth to him I would read to him. I do believe this is, at least in part, why he is such an advanced reader.
We love to end our day sharing a book. He still likes for us to read to him, but I know that will eventually end. Hopefully we've developed a habit of reading before bed, that even as he becomes a teenager, he'll want to read before he goes to bed.
As you can see, daily rituals are important in our home. And Tropicana Orange juice may not be an everyday ritual, but it is incorporated on an almost daily basis.
Do you have daily rituals in your home? I'd love to hear them, so please feel free to share them in the comments!
I wrote this blog post while participating
in the SocialMoms and Tropicana blogging program, to earn My SocialMoms
Rewards Points. The opinions and ideas expressed here are 100% my own. To
read more posts on this topic, click here.