Getting Kids Into a Routine – DIY

Kids and Routine

I have heard the experts say that kids thrive with routine.  Well, I don’t know about you but I struggle to get myself into a routine, never mind my kids – ha!  I know that both the children and my husband and I would be able to operate a lot more smoothly if we were able to stick to a routine.  A few years ago, before my third child was born, I was really determined to get my kids into a proper routine so that they would require less nagging from me.  I made some of the charts below to help the boys with their morning and evening routines.  As you can see, the charts are very well loved, hence the dog-eared corners.  They used them for quite a long time, but sadly they don’t use it as much anymore.  I’m trying to get them back into the habit of using them again so that I don’t have to keep reminding them about every little thing, because I’m sure all of you mummy’s out there know very well when I say, I do not have the mental space for that at the moment!

I divided it up into morning and evening routines to make it easier for my boys, and as you can see, it’s just the simple stuff that I found myself constantly nagging them about. I would say it has been about a good year since they have used these properly, because I wasn’t consistent with checking on them so they just got used to me verbally reminding them again. I am finding that I am getting tired of that once more, so I am currently trying to get them back into the habit of using these. Although, I have to say that my eldest doesn’t really need it as much. However, I think that the action of actually flipping the flap over and seeing the word “done” really does help them feel like they have accomplished something, no matter how big or small it may be, it’s still an accomplishment!

How to Make Your Own Routine Chart

These were inspired by another blogger mom at My Name Is Snickerdoodle, and I had modified it a bit to suit my own needs. She provides detailed step-by-step instructions on her website, and I pretty much followed the same steps, except I found my own clipart and ended up using a laminator (yes, I have one of my own, I find it very useful and handy to have!). I also borrowed a corner cutter (in order to get those round edges) from one of my friends, GetKamfortable – she wasn’t married back then so she was still on the West Coast at the time! Please do let me know in the comments below if you have any questions. I will be making one for my youngest daughter soon, so I will be sure to update this post with anything new I may decide to add or change!

-ThatSikhMama