If you are a parent, you have most probably encountered the huge need babies and toddlers have for routine, structured, predictable days. We share most of the activities together with my wife, but I usually take care of the end-of-day routines. Furthermore, I’ve taken to mark each step by singing a different song.
I use TuneIn for listening to internet radio stations. Since most Mexican stations play the national anthem at midnight local time, I will usually sing it when I’m preparing him to go to daycare at 8 a.m. Finnish time. Think of it as a small scale “honores a la bandera”.
If I’m around when he takes his mid-day nap, I’ll sing him this:
To brush his teeth then we’ll come with this:
When it’s time to go to bed it’s the turn of “La familia Telerín”:
Putting his pajamas will be to the tune of “Juan Pestañas”
And in case that was not enough and he can’t sleep, then stronger measures are needed
Funnily enough, if by any chance I miss or mix any of the songs, he will be very, very annoyed. I just hope he doesn’t grow up thinking life is an Andrew Lloyd Weber musical or a Pedro Infante movie. 🙂