I fought against making a daily schedule for our boys for some time. I would try it here and there, but would never stick to it for any length of time. The different age-stages were partly to blame but just sitting down to make the schedule seemed overwhelming. However, after some whining fits and too many requests for TV time, I began to feel frustrated and wanted a solution.
So, I thought, why not? I’ll give it a shot. If God himself was on a 7-day organized schedule for Creation, then maybe there is something to this whole thing.
I caved, went to Target and bought a white write board (with cute flowers on it of course, there has to be some estrogen in this home) and sat down with the boys to make our family schedule. A few things came out of this experience:
- The boys were thrilled to be a part of the planning and give their input.
- Starting the first day, they were reminding me what was next.
- It helped save my sanity and didn’t leave time for boredom and the shenanigans that occur in those lulls.
- When issues of TV watching, going outside or fighting nap came up, I just had to say 3 words, “Check the schedule.” And…drum roll please, there was no arguing or disputes. Zero, zip, nada. I didn’t have to say yes or no. THE SCHEDULE said yes and no. And although they may have been a bit disgruntled in the moment, I was shocked how easy they accepted it and moved on to the next task.
- When their grandparents came a few weeks later, the first thing they wanted to show them–the schedule. They took pride in their structure.
Do we stick to the schedule every day? No. Do we still live spontaneously and do fun things? Yes. But our schedule gives us all a map for our days. It has become a welcomed guide in our household, cute flowers and all.
