Routines are an essential tool for all parents. Routines provide kids with a sense of security, stability, and predictability. Crafts and DIY are super fun, but what should you actually put in your morning routine charts for kids and toddlers? And, more importantly, how can you actually get your kids to buy in? Developing independence is hard. Do you need help creating your kid’s morning routine chart? Keep reading this step-by-step guide to learn how to make a kid & toddler-friendly morning routine chart. Then, download your free printable by filling out the form below!
Table of Contents
Why Are Morning Routines Important for Kids?
All kids can benefit from having more independence and responsibility — after all, that’s the whole goal of parenting, right? One of the biggest reasons why it is important to create a morning routine chart for kids is that it creates a sense of independence and confidence in your child.
Customize visual schedules that teach kids independence. No more nagging, no more stress.
As was mentioned before, it’s hard for children to deal with the uncertainty of everyday life, especially kids who are neurodiverse. Having a morning routine can help guide them through the steps of a hectic morning and will give them confidence that they can take care of things on their own. Routines help reduce your child’s stress because they know exactly what is expected of them. Plus, developing a morning routine chart for toddlers and kids teaches them healthy habits that they will keep throughout their lives. Establishing a good morning routine will set a tone for the rest of your day. It will make life easier for you as a parent and will make it easier for your child to strive for independence throughout the rest of the day.
Read More: How to Make a Morning Routine Checklist for Kids
How To Make a Morning Routine Chart: Step-By-Step
Creating a morning routine for your child does not have to be complicated. Instead of focusing on the tasks you want to add to your morning routine chart, consider how to make your current morning routine less stressful. Are you always turning back at the last second because your kiddos forgot to brush their teeth? Let’s add that to the chart! Here are the top steps to follow when you are making a chart:
1. Define What’s Already Working in Other Routines for Your Kiddos
First, define other routines that your child has during the day. This can include the routine they follow during dinner time, bedtime, and more. Think about what’s already working for your family in those routines — what can your kids do really well independently? What do they need more hand-holding on?
This will help you decide how much you should break down the steps in your routine. For instance, if your kiddo always forgets to put the cap back on the toothpaste and leaves a mess in the bathroom you’ll want to break down “morning hygiene” into much smaller steps.
Another way to start is by making a list of the things that you need to get done in the mornings that your kids can help with. This can include everything from making breakfast, packing lunches, and making sure homework is in the backpack. Combine the features of routines that are already working for your child in your morning routine chart with these tasks to get more accomplished!
2. Create Consistency With a Visual Schedule and Chart
Next, find a way to establish consistency for your child. Everyone wants to know what to expect, so having a visual schedule and morning routine chart posted somewhere will make it easier for your child to follow their routine.
Each step of your chart will depend on your child and how much instruction they need. For example, toddlers and younger kids may need you to list all the steps to follow when they are brushing their teeth. Older kids would not need as much detail on their visual chart.
3. Create Rewards and Involve Your Child in Growing Their Independence Skills
Finally, you need to find ways to involve your child in this process and create rewards to encourage them to follow their routine. Make sure rewards are something your kiddo can get excited about. To make sure you choose rewards that work for your child, you can try involving them in the process and allowing them to choose their own rewards. Some rewards might be:
- screen time
- dinner at their favorite restaurant
- a new toy
- a new puppy (that’s a big one! But hey, maybe you were planning on getting one anyway!)
The better your child is at doing their routine efficiently, the more points they should get to go toward their reward. (If you use a Goally device, your child will score points automatically for completing routines and you can customize the rewards that you want them to have.)
Read More: Developing a Reward Chart for Kids: Everything To Know
Read More: Video Modeling Apps for Neurodivergent Kids
How To Start Implementing Your Morning Routine Chart
It’s fairly easy to create a morning routine chart for your child. The harder part is implementing . First, you should start by implementing a smaller, fun routine for your child. This routine should include rewards as well. A fun routine can be anything task oriented that your kiddo likes to do, like taking care of a pet, doing stretches, sorting toys, etc. You’ll want to make a chart just like you did for the morning.
Read More: Best Weather app
As you start to implement your fun routines, kids will see the chart method as fun, not as a nag. But still, start slow. When you try to implement too much change, it can cause additional stress for your child and may make them hesitant to follow visual charts and routines in the future.
Goally | Make Your Morning Routine A Breeze
Ready to start using digital visual schedules to streamline your morning routine? Goally’s skill building tablet for kids has routines that break down large tasks into small, achievable steps. It helps kids complete their tasks independently!
Create custom routines with your own videos & pictures for every step. Lay a strong foundation with small, bite-sized steps designed to expand your child’s independence.
Goally grows with your child allowing you to break down each step (ex: put cap back on toothpaste), if necessary and then when your child’s independence grows you can easily edit the routine (ex: brush your teeth) to fit your child’s needs.
Try our distraction-free device (with ONLY Goally apps on it) for $149. And by distraction-free, we mean your kiddo won’t be sneaking onto Youtube every few minutes… 😉
Need Help Creating a Morning Routine Chart?
When you are trying to help your children improve their independence skills, using a morning routine chart is an easy way to start. However, paper visual schedules, charts, and checklists can be hard to keep track of and adapt as your kiddos grow. If you are looking for an easier way to help your kid improve their independence, Goally can help! Goally has customizable visual schedules, language-building word games, checklists, reminders, and more beneficial tools for your kids! Try Goally today and us know how it goes in the comments below!
This post was originally updated on 09/27/2022. It was updated on 06/15/2023.
Goally
We help parents teach their kids life skills, like doing bedtime and morning independently. Backed by science, we incorporate evidence-based practices and expert-informed designs in all of our apps and content.
