Quick question for you. How many times a day do you look at your schedule, calendar, or agenda?

I don't know about you but one of the first things I do every morning is open my daily calendar. I always need to review what's on tap for the day so I can mentally prepare myself and have an idea of how my day is going to be structured. This grounds me big time

I also take a good glance at it every Sunday evening so I have a clear idea of what my week looks like.

I would feel 100% completely lost without my calendar.

I don't only have 1 calendar- I have multiples!!! Call me cray.
I have a calendar for work, each of my kids, family stuff, and birthdays.

If I had to rely on my own memory to keep me on track and organized I'd be doomed in seconds.

You probably wouldn't be reading this and we wouldn't probably wouldn't be friends because I wouldn't be so on top of my shit with work.

So here's the deal.... Our kids are NO DIFFERENT!

To be successful, they need predictability!

To feel grounded, they need to know what's expected of them!

To stay focused, they need a plan!

They need a routine, just as much as we need it. Maybe more.

Visual schedules are one of the most powerful tools I use to help my children build routine in their daily life.

I like visual schedules A LOT.

They work as mini calendars for our kids.

They are EXTREMELY effective for kids.

Why you ask? Great question!

because they're concrete.

because kids can glance at them and review them anytime.

because they create a sense of empowerment for kids.

because they don't negotiate. kids can't get into a power struggle with a visual schedule.

This takes a lot of pressure off of parents to be the broken record to keep reminding their kid to do something.

I hate having to ask my kids to do something more than three times. That's where my patience wears thin.

I rather direct them back to their visual schedule then me raising my voice and losing my cool.

the best part about all of this is that once your kid has enough repetition and practice following the visual schedule- they likely will go into autopilot and Ta Da! learning has happened.

Visual schedules don't have to be fancy or high tech. You can grab scrap paper and write out a schedule for your kid if their reading or you can use stickers or simple drawings to create one.

Here's an example of a visual schedule one of my clients recently create for her 6 & 7 year old. It's so simple- she's sticks it on the fridge. She creates them daily or reuses them if she can! Her kids love coming home to check the schedule on the fridge. She also feels like it helps reduce a lot of the stress she experiences at home between the hours of school ending and bed time.

Here’s another example of a visual schedule I use with my kids for their morning routines. They are slightly different than each other because we’re currently toilet training my son so we’ve built in a potty break into his morning routine to make that a regular thing for him.

Here’s your homework. Choose one part of your day that you find stressful. Take out a piece of paper and create a visual schedule for your child. Review the schedule with them- you might have to put in a bit of teaching time but trust me…. short term pain for long term gain. It’s a huge win.

You’ve got this!

Cori

p.s. If you need any help with this in any way, then I want you to book in a FREE 30 minute Strategy call with me so we can get you started with this. I think every parent needs this one in their toolbox.