Routine chart for our toddler
If your toddler is anything like mine, she hates boring daily tasks like going to the potty, washing hands, brushing teeth, getting dressed…you get the gist! But thankfully toddlers love games and competition! So today’s post is for any parents who read this blog and face the same dilemmas :).
I’ve included a free printable to the chart I created for Ria and also links to other routine charts in case our routine doesn’t match yours.
A little backstory…
When we moved to this house in early 2019, Ria and I were both having daily meltdowns. Part of the reason was she was still getting used to her new room and so wasn’t getting enough sleep. Of course neither was I because I was sleeping on a floor mattress in her room for nearly a month till she got used to the new place! That’s when I came across the concept of a routine chart for mornings and evenings so we could make a game out of the things we HAD to do every single day.
Since I couldn't find anything online that matched our specific routine, I literally printed pictures out, pasted them on a large sheet and hand wrote the rest (as you can see above). I made this in about an hour just to test whether she’d get excited to do the mundane stuff if she got to put a sticker next to each task…and boy was it a success!
She loved it and it really helped us settle her into her new room well. Her pediatrician was also impressed and gave us a big thumbs up on using this to ease a big life transition! Yes..I had to call her pediatrician during this time…I was THAT desperate to get more sleep and minimize meltdowns ;)!
Fast forward several months and we forgot about the old handmade chart and now we’re back to square one squabbling over washing hands after using the potty again. Sigh…if you’re a new mom reading this, please know that kids go through “phases” and sometimes these phases come back again and again! Just know in your heart this too shall pass ;).
This time I thought I’d put my Photoshop skills to use and create a routine chart from scratch that matches our daily routine. Since she’s able to grip a pen now, I created blank check boxes next to each task so she get’s the satisfaction of “ticking” what she’s completed.
The new chart includes both our morning and evening routines on the same page with simple images and a few words. I’ve been testing it out this week and she’s able to recognize each activity through the images…yay!
As you can see below, after printing I put the chart into an 8.5×11 plastic sleeve and we’ve been using a whiteboard marker to check the boxes. This way the marks can be easily erased and the chart is reused without having to print again and again! You can download the PDF of the routine chart here but please give credit back to this blog if you post it anywhere :).
We’ve also been using the “My Potty Time Chart” from The Kreative Life and she loves it! I’d say 50% of the time she fusses and I end up washing her hands for her but I hope slowly we’re building the right habits. She’s also learning how to hold a pen each time which is good practice for writing in future! Can you tell I’m all about the small victories?!
More routine charts
In case the above chart doesn’t quite match your personal routine, here are links to a few others that may work for you:
Thanks to Freepik I could create the custom chart above
Hopefully soon enough these tasks will become habit! Any other parents reading this and can relate to what we’re going through? 🙂
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