![]() By building one, you send a message that says, “This is how we do things.” Routines make daily activities manageable, allowing your child to focus on one thing at a time. A predictable schedule offers structure that helps kids feel safe and secure. It may not always be obvious, but children want and need routines. In terms of behavior, they help improve efficiency and daily functioning. Routines affect life positively on two levels. The Benefits of Putting Your Child on a Schedule To make structure truly effective, routines need to be seen and implemented not just as simple behavioral strategies, but as a way of life. Usually, trying to implement a daily schedule doesn’t work because parents give up too soon. Every day becomes a battle, and we’re all worn out. Yet many throw in the towel after a few weeks (or even a few days) because the routines are not working. Many well-intentioned parents enthusiastically start out to establish the structure their children need. Yet there is hope - even happiness - in sight. But when you’re raising a child with real attention difficulties in the real world, setting and maintaining such routines can seem downright hopeless. Do something fun to unwind before a regular bedtime. Make sure homework happens at the same time and in the same setting daily. You’ve heard it before: Set up a morning routine for kids with ADHD to get out the door on time. The keys to getting the ADHD organization help you need: belief in the power of family routines and a long-term commitment to them. I hope that this post is helpful and inspires you to create your own DIY visual daily planner for your kids.All parents of children with ADHD have heard the routine about routines: Kids need structure, and children with attention deficit need even more. For their chore charts, we use this chore chart printable from The Incremental Mama. I even used a little dry erase marker to add in some times so he would have an idea of when different tasks started, that way he’s not asking “is it time for lunch?” 100 times a day. Here’s how our schedules looked, with my 4 year old’s schedule being the first one you see. While ours are hanging on the refrigerator, a clipboard is also a great idea, especially one with storage to store the extra task cards that aren’t being used that day. I recommend using adhesive dots, or even “velcro” dots to attach your tasks. ![]() Once you have your schedule all laminated, you are ready to add your cards to your schedule and make your routine. It took me a while to cut out the cards but I just think that the durability you get from laminating it is so worth it. To create your laminated schedule, you’ll need a printer with ink, printer paper, and a laminator and laminating pouches. ![]() Plus, there are also blank cards to create your own options. I feel like everything is included here- from basic self-care tasks for kids to sports practices, pet care, and more. Then, I went through these activity cards carefully making sure there were plenty of options and duplicates of the ones needed, like brushing teeth, snack time, etc… The download comes with two schedule options- a single page that has morning, afternoon, and night, or separate schedule pages for morning/afternoon/night. This is perfect for toddlers, preschoolers, and even my school age son loves it. I used glue dots to put ours together, but I’d highly recommend velcro, so that each day you can adjust the schedule as needed. To make this daily planner for your kids, just sign up for my email list to download the free printable, then you can print out the schedule pages, and the cards, laminate, and have your own daily schedule that will withstand some rough kiddos. How to make a visual daily planner for kids. Also, if you are looking for a more traditional planner for older kids, be sure to check out my review on the Erin Condren Kids planner. It has pictures to accompany the tasks, so this works even for kids who aren’t reading age, yet. This visual daily planner for kids is such a great idea, and you can put it on the side of the refrigerator, or on a clipboard, so that your child can reference it whenever they need. I did this before, to an extent, but now that my youngest is almost 5, it is working so well to have them a schedule to look at. One thing that has saved my sanity more so than ever during this COVID “quarantine” with my kids being at home has been getting them into a routine and on a schedule.
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