Looking for ideas for a daily, easy to follow, realistic toddler schedule for this fall and winter season? I’m glad to share our real one. It can serve as an inspiration to create your own toddler schedule or just print out this one if it fits yours. According to science, it’s important and beneficial to have family routines. And my experience proved it.
It should be noted that I’m NOT a person, who is a believer in a strict schedule. I avoided molding my baby’s or toddler’s eating and sleeping schedule to match or fit our adult one. We’ve settled gradually into routines that work for everyone in our family. And that’s my best advice – take it easy and do it step by step.
As a parent, you probably sense it from the first days of your child’s life. Your child has his own innate natural rhythm and preferences. For me, it was important from the beginning, to observe our son and to learn his inborn guides. Moreover, he seemed to know from day one when to go to sleep and when to wake up. He knows when to eat, when to stop and when to play. For me, it was astonishing, that his own natural rhythm followed the clock almost exact to the minute. Clearly, his rhythm did not follow exactly our adult schedule. However, welcoming this little guy at home, meant for us to settle into a routine that works for all of us.
So, I decided to neglect a few parenting books and opinions of parenting “experts”, including my own mom, on creating a strict baby and a toddler schedule that would fit mine. I’ve heard that parenting is a field with the most experts in the world: everyone has an opinion on parenting. So, the best way to make a smart decision is to trust yourself.
Our Daily Toddler Schedule
Our toddler schedule for the fall and winter season consists of a
Even if it does not feel always like that, babies and toddlers have a strong sense of order. I am sure that you have noticed, that babies and toddlers are constantly trying to make sense of our world. They try to create their own order, to figure out, where everything belongs, how to use it. When they know how the day will go, they develop a sense of security and feel safe.
We’ve moved 4 times since his birth cross-border. However, we tried to keep his environment almost the same no matter where in the world we are. Keeping his schedule the same helped us a lot with making him feel good and secure.
Toddler Morning Routine
How to structure your morning time? Here is our toddler’s daily schedule between 07:00 am and 12:00 pm. If you want to read more about it in detail, click here.
Toddler Afternoon Routine
How do we structure our afternoons in the wintertime? Here is the overview. Read more about it here.
Toddler Evening Routine
Finally or again evening! With a toddler, the time flies, and we have some plans for our evenings too. Read more in detail or just have a look at the toddler schedule #3.
Toddler Activities Routine
Our toddler activities are less-structured – Aiden determines on his own the activity he wants to do and when.
I a big believer in less-structured activities for two good reasons.
Firstly, when he chooses the activity by himself, he has his own goal and agenda that he works towards to. He moves, repeats, talks to his toys. Also, he puts toys and items in the order in his own terms. He imitates, builds, counts, repeats letters and words, draws, dances, sings as much as he can. Without a doubt, he is concentrated on his activities. For me is sometimes hilarious to observe him and I want to squish him. However, any involvement from my side would be an interruption and he would react probably well. So I keep quiet and try to work. It is another story if he invites me to play with him.
Secondly, there is extensive scientific research on less-structured activities. It shows that time spent in less-structured activities would give children opportunities to practice self-directed executive functioning. That leads to benefits in later life. With less-structured activities, a child can learn to manage oneself and his resources better in order to achieve a goal. They can improve self-control, develop creative thinking, and practice to stay focused. Sounds good, right? Another good thing is that EFs are trainable and can be improved with practice.
So, let’s put it this way – make activities possible to be chosen. Learn here how.
Daily Toddler Schedule – worth to have it?
Definitely. It gives the day some structure if you stay at home, or work from home and you can plan your day or time better. Additionally, it is a must-have, if from time to time someone else is taking care of your child at home.
Happy Playing!
