I currently have an almost 2.5 year old son and a 1 year old daughter. These ages are so wonderful yet exhausting at times as well. I want to share with you some routines & habits I use with my kiddos that, in my book, are essential for efficiency as a family. When implying these simple habits, your house will be much more peaceful, I guarantee.
Toys At Their Level
Every week, I rotate my kids’ toys. One thing that is always the case, no matter what toys I have out for the week, is that the toys are all at the kids’ level. What’s the point of having toys but not having them accessible? I want to encourage independence with my children and part of that is giving them the ability to make choices for themselves. Yes- I’ve already set out the toys they get to choose from but then from there, they get to choose which toys to play with, how to play with them, & when to play with them. Having all the toys within reach helps with that immensely.
Coats, Hats, Shoes, & Socks At Their Level
This goes along with the previous one about giving toddlers the ability to make choices for themselves, but also, this becomes a part of daily life that can be helpful for you as a parent! I keep all the things above downstairs, right by the door, at their level. My 2 year old son chooses his own shoes, coat, hat, etc. and can even begin to put them on by himself. This helps him practice independence and gives me the ability to be prepping other things for leaving the house.
Clothes Laid Out The Night Before
This is a very practical one, but since the kids’ bedroom is upstairs, most nights, I will bring their outfits from their bedroom downstairs so I have one less decision to make in the morning and one less trip upstairs. Then, once breakfast is done, their outfit is right there, ready to be put on. I also do this at night with their pjs.
Prepping Kids With The Schedule Ahead Of Time
My daughter is still too young for this, but I’ve started to prep my son of what’s to come ahead of time. For example, if it’s a day we go to church, I’ll tell him, “After we do _____, we’re going to get ready for church.” Then, a little bit later, I’ll give another reminder. He doesn’t understand the concept of time, but I find he transitions from one thing to another easier and quicker if he expected it to happen (because I prepped him for the change). Imagine if you are deep in thought and someone comes to you and demands you to drop it and go do something else. We’d be upset! But, we tend to do that with children without thinking about how that’d make us feel if we were in their shoes. I’ve also seen people use a timer; I might try that one of these days as well.
Putting Kids To Nap At The Same Time
This isn’t always possible depending on the age of your children, but as soon as my daughter was even remotely close to transitioning to one nap, I made it happen. I slowly started making her morning naps shorter and eventually cut it out so that both my kids go down for nap and get up from nap at the same time. It makes my life easier to have them on the same schedule (especially because they’re currently sharing a room).
Tia Marie
tia marie 