Are your kids driving you crazy? How about putting them on a family schedule?
Let me tell you, it was the best thing I ever did. It stopped all the whining, squabbles, and idle time with nothing to do. I also noticed my kids slept much better at night because they were busy all day.
In this post, you will see how a flexible family schedule will help both you and your kids have more time to do the things you love.
I will teach you how to create your own schedule packed with fun, spiritual growth, creativity, and learning. You will also understand why you should do it and get a few tips to help work out the kinks. First, what is a family schedule?
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What Is a Family Schedule? Why Use One?
A family routine or schedule is a way to organize your family so everyone can accomplish goals, have fun, and create family bonds all at the same time. It’s for parents who are tired of the bickering, too much screen time, and grazing all day in the kitchen.
Here are four reasons why you need to consider creating a family schedule:
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It’s flexible
The biggest reason to do a family schedule is that it is flexible; the time blocks will allow you to adjust to the needs of your family. After you settle into a routine, you will see how nice it is to have your day planned out and organized using time blocks that can move around at a moment’s notice.
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Easier to work
Having a schedule allows more time in your day to accomplish goals. If you work at home, you can schedule work hours during room time or screen time. Even if you don’t have a paid job, you still work at home. You need time to get things accomplished like laundry, dinner, or paying bills. Whatever the task, you have time built in every day to do it.
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No chaos
Once I put a family schedule in place, it cut down on arguing, fighting, and mischief. You will no longer be irritated and angry all day. In fact, you will enjoy the time you spend together with your kids. And keep your sanity.
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Work on character issues
Having kids home during the day can be a great thing. It is not only an opportunity to create family memories, but it is also a good time to work on character issues.
When you are with your kids all day, you will notice some things you can work on such as whining, lying, self-control, obedience, attitude, etc.
Tailor your devotionals to hit relevant issues and use the discussion time to talk about positive ways to do things.
How Do I Make a Family Schedule?
You may be wondering what is a good family schedule. Check out this sample daily family routine I used with my kids when they were growing up. It worked pretty well on the days they were home all day.
You can adjust the times to your kid’s age, sleep habits, and time of the year. The activities are in time blocks. Simply move around the blocks to the time that fits your family. Here’s a family schedule example:
8:30 am-9 am Breakfast
While eating breakfast, read a short devotional relevant to your kid’s age. Find stories that focus on character traits. I highly recommend Adventures in Odessey if you want something to listen to instead of reading. (I am not an affiliate.)
After the devotional, ask a few discussion questions. You can make them up. I tried to make the questions fun and relevant. You don’t have to be a teacher to do this. Any questions having to do with the story will get a conversation going.
The main purpose of family devotionals is to drive questions to character traits. Pros and cons of each person in the story and their motives for behaving a certain way.
* I did my best not to let them watch TV during meal times. It is a bad habit to get into. Families lose so much time connecting with each other when they sit and eat in front of the TV every meal.
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9am-9:30am Chores
Get dressed, help with dishes or laundry, clean up their room, empty trash, etc.
9:30am -11:30am Play outside/pool/field trip
This is the fun part of a family schedule! Playtime.
Swim in the summer, go to the park, or take a walk around the block. If you don’t have access to a pool or a park, go on a field trip. Look for kid-friendly places to hang out such as McDonald’s, petting zoo/farm, play gym, airplane museum, zoo, train museum, or whatever local attractions are in your area. Get online and do a little research.
Once a week, go to the library to get books. Attend storytime, if they have it. This is a great inside activity when it is hot or cold outside.
If you can’t leave your home, send your kids outside to play. It is important to let them create their own games and have time to imagine. If they come back bored, give them chores. They’ll go back outside real quick.
Provide a fort, swing set, sandbox, playhouse, etc. so they have something to start their play. They can take it from there. If you don’t have money, garage sale. There are many toys that are discounted. This is how I go ours! ( A cardboard box is the best.)
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11:30am-12:30pm Hobbies/Teach a skill/Lessons
Crafts-daughter
My daughter liked doing crafts in her family schedule so I had a bunch of paints, colors, pencils, play-doh, etc. There was no Pinterest back then. She just created things. I tried to keep the mess to a minimum.
You can set out a towel or shower curtain liner to keep the paint from getting everywhere. This can be done inside or outside. I preferred outside! Other ideas are to teach needlework/cooking/piano. (Pick something your child is interested in.)
Outdoor play/sports
My son loved being outside as part of his family schedule. His hobby was sports. We signed him up for the swim team one season and tennis the next season. Eventually, my daughter did the same thing when she was older. Later, she did dance.
12:30pm-1pm Lunch/Picnic Outside
Eat lunch at the park, the pool, or make a picnic outside in the backyard when the weather is warm. This will make lunch more fun when doing your family schedule. If you are swimming, it will extend the time outside.
*If a devotional is not good at breakfast, do it at lunchtime (if you are home).
1 pm-2 pm Free Time
Let the kids watch TV, get on the computer, iPad, etc. This gives everyone a little time to wind down after the morning activities and get ready for room time.
2pm-3pm Room time/Reading/Rest
Whatever age and reading level, your kids need to be reading books every day. If they are young, you can read to them. If they are older, they can work on their school reading list or have free reading time.
I let my son read comics for free reading. The older they are, the more time they need to read. This is an important part of your family schedule.
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After they are done, they can stay in their room and play with their toys or rest, etc. I started teaching my kids about personal quiet times during this time.
They read the Bible/Bible story the amount of time as their age. 10 yrs old = 10 minutes of Bible reading.
If they keep trying to leave their room, send them back. You can train them to do this with a few consequences and rewards. Example: Make their room time tied to the screen time. For every minute you stay in your room playing or reading, you earn screen time in the next hour.
3 pm-4 pm Educational Screen Time
If you have older kids, find math, reading, science, and history games for them to play on the computer/iPad. I tried to capitalize on the areas they struggled with the most. Be careful because the computer/iPad is addictive. Too much screen time can also cause sleep issues. The blue light will keep them up if on at night.
There are apps, programs, and so many different things to download. Make sure they think it is a fun game so it is not a huge power struggle.
*One summer my son and a friend designed a theme park that included different rides and games. It took them most of the summer to finish. It kept them busy for hours.
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4 pm-5 pm Play Time/Help Mom
This is a perfect time to let your kids go back outside or play in the house if it is too hot or cold. Older ones can help in the kitchen with dishes or set the table.
This allows you time to work on dinner if you have not started. They can also help you with anything around the house like laundry, etc. Chores are an important part of your weekly family schedule.
5pm-5:30pm Clean-Up Time
Everyone helps pick up toys and clean up before dinner.
5:30pm-6:15pm Dinner
Eat as a family without the TV. Talk about the day, what they learned in their reading, devotions, etc. Include dad in on the events of the day so he can participate in the discussion.
6:30 pm-7: 30pm Family time/ younger kids get ready for bed
It is important to have some whole family interaction in the evenings, if possible. Try a board game or game outside. Notice the emphasis on the outdoors over screen time. If you are married, make time to sit with your spouse for fifteen to thirty minutes of “couch time.” You will have to train your kids to not interrupt you.
7:30 pm-8 pm Bathtime for older kids/bedtime for younger kids
My kids loved bathtub paints. There are plenty of bathtime activities on Pinterest to keep your kids engaged in some fun. Play is such an important part of your family schedule whether alone with others.
8:00pm-8;45pm Storytime/School Reading
Great time to read storybooks together or catch up on school reading, if not done during the day.
8:45pm-9pm Prayers/Bedtime for older kids
Pray together before bedtime. You can pray for other people you know. Or you can pick someone you don’t know like a missionary or someone you have heard of that needs prayer. This gives your kids the opportunity to care about those outside of themselves.
Get your FREE FAMILY SCHEDULE PRINTABLE right here and make more time for those you love!
How Do I Plan My Daily Schedule?
It is not hard to keep your family organized if you write everything down and communicate with each other regularly. Most importantly, you and your spouse need to set boundaries.
It is easy to say “yes” to too many activities. Before you know it, you are gone all the time. Here are some tips to help you:
1. Write out the family schedule with your kids
Ask your kids to help you build a family schedule. Make it a family affair. They probably will balk at first, so don’t be surprised. Keep moving forward and stay positive. Remember that they would rather watch TV and eat junk food day instead of following a family schedule. So would I.
2. Post the family schedule where everyone can see it
It is much easier to follow a family schedule when it is out for everyone to look at it. There are no surprises or confusion about what is expected. I put ours on the refrigerator.
3. Adjust the family schedule, if needed
You may find your kids do better playing in the afternoon and sleeping until 11 am. You do what is best for the lifestyle of your family. The time blocks are easy to move around.
4. Choose what is important
We read and did devotions every day. It was the one thing we didn’t adjust. I suggest you do the same thing. Some things are worth keeping no matter what your day looks like.
5. Enforce the family schedule
There were a few times one or both of my kids didn’t read when they were supposed to. They had to read during their free time. This is not the fun part of the family schedule, but it works because you have free time. So do it!
If they got out of their room during room time, I added more time to room time. There will be times of conflict but, overall, your kids should buy into the whole concept of a family schedule if most of the day is fun.
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How Do You Manage a Family Schedule?
Here are some tips to help you manage your family schedule and make it successful. Your attitude toward a schedule must be positive if you want your kids to buy into it.
- Encourage obedience: You are in charge, not your kids! Be firm but loving about the activities you have chosen for the day.
RELATED: 9 Sneaky Ways Your Pre-Schooler is in Charge and How to Fix It
- Selling it: If you don’t think it is fun, you won’t sell it to your kids as fun. Fine-tune your schedule to their talents and needs. Allow your kids to help choose some of the activities so they have ownership in their day. Be excited!
- Stay flexible-don’t be rigid with the schedule. It is a guide to help you with your day. If your kids are having fun don’t go inside or put away the paints, etc. Let them have 30 more minutes to play and create. (One exception is nap time. I suggest you keep it at the same time every day.)
- Screen time: I tried to keep the screen time down to about 2 hours a day at most. If your kids are having sleep issues/nightmares, go down to 1 hour of screen time a day. Make sure you keep an eye on what they are watching.
No matter what, keep an eye on the amount of time they watch TV, etc. It is also important you see what your kids are watching whether on TV, video games, iPad, phone, or the computer. Screens are not a good form of education or entertainment all day long. It should be used sparingly.
We never allowed a TV or computer in the bedrooms at night. When your kids do get a Smart Phone, it is important to get blocks on the phone. Pornography is too easy to access.
I hope you have fun with your family schedule and find ways to be intentional with your kids
Tell me what activities you put into your family schedule?
Got Family Problems? There is Help and Hope!
Are you experiencing family problems or have a family estrangement? Do you feel shame, anger, or rejection? Check out my book Estranged: Finding Hope When Your Family Falls Apart on Amazon or at your favorite digital store.
This book not only talks about my seven-year estrangement (and reconciliation) from my Christian family but also gives solid tips to help you with your family problems. Break free from your pain. Allow God to heal you no matter what has happened in your family of origin. There is hope when your family falls apart.
Creating Family Memories Book
Get Creating Family Memories. This book will help you manage your family in a way that allows more time to be intentional with your kids. It includes a schedule too. You can get it at your favorite bookstore.
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Continue the conversation on Facebook and join the group Christian Family Living. This is a place for Christian women to freely talk about parenting, marriage, faith, family, and culture. Being a Christian is hard! Let’s do it together. Most of all, a sense of humor is required. Got memes? Bring it on!
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32 Comments
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I think having a schedule for when the kids are off makes such a difference for them but mostly for your own mental health too so you can feel that you are in control of the days!
Amalia, you are so right. I got my life back when I started a schedule.
Really useful tips! As long as you can stick to the routine you set hah! that’s what I’ve always struggled with! Self-discipline is very important
I know it can be hard at times. It is important to put things in the schedule that you actually want to do. That will make it easier to do.
Your kids aren’t the only ones who need a schedule! I’m a teacher in my last week, and I will be making a schedule for myself so that I’m productive and don’t just lay around all day. I don’t have kids, so I’ll be getting a break for a few months. Hope you and your kids have a wonderful summer!
Tawnya, I think this is great. It is good for us to know what we are doing or the days just melt into months with no productivity.
This is a very tight schedule to keep, but it would keep the kids busy for the entire day. How do they handle the structure?
Katie, have them help you design it so they have some ownership. You can be flexible. There will be some conflict over reading and naps, but everything else is pretty good.
These I would say a perfect summer schedule for the parents, it is really a productive summer for both kids and parents. Busy but full of activities 🙂
Laurence, I think it is a good way for kids to not lose everything from the school year. It definitely helps them keep up with their reading skills.
I do not have kids 🙂 this is so handy, having a routine is significant. thank you for sharing these tips 🙂
Nina, hopefully, you will keep it in the back of your mind for when you do.
I don’t have any kids, but I love how organised this all sounds! Especially all the activities. I loved those as a kid!
Eboni, I like to be organized. It does help everyone know what is happening. Kids like predictability also.
Kids can really drive you nuts if you let them, but because you’re an adult, you have to check up on this. I agree that preparing a schedule with their input at hand can be so awesome and definitely works out. I always tend to ensure my young brothers help in some easy chores to get them busy….or else… it’s gonna go crazy!
Ha Ha! So true. Kids can drive you nuts really fast. Glad you have gotten help to keep busy. Thanks for your comment, Dalene.
I don’t have kids yet so I never went through keeping the kids on check. I remember my brothers and I to be quite behaved on holiday to be honest! Maybe it is because we did not have electronic devices and we were by the pool all day in the garden!
Corrine, yes, having a pool helps. Have a great summer!
Thanks for this. I dread the summer every year! It’s not easy to set a routine around your own.
Viva, you will be so glad you did. It’s painful at first, but soon everyone slips into it. Don’t let them talk you out of it. They are going to try! Have a great summer!
Oh my goodness, this is so fate! I was literally thinking to myself yesterday, if this stay at home mommy thing is going to work I need to get into a routine. This is so perfect! I think I have free time too much and they start fighting and yelling and then I begin to yell and it has been a hard Summer already! Whew! I am so glad to have this template. Thank you so much! #Blyssyourheart
Oh, I am thrilled this will help you. It doesn’t take long before the yelling starts when there is idle time. Hope it works!!
Routine is so ver important! I love reading this post so many children are forever claiming to be bored or over working themselves on school work and forget how to be a child. This sounds like the balance between.
I love your point about consequences for things that are important. When I’m home with them I need to do more redirecting on small stuff so they can work things out between each other and save consequences for important things!
Elaine, yes, redirecting is good way to stay out of a power struggle. Save the big guns for the big stuff.
I like this alot. I am thankful for the rest of summer break but I also don’t want to feel like we’ve waisted time doing nothing.
Crystal, hopefully you can schedule in some meaningful things this summer. Thanks for commenting.
Very nice plan for a relaxing and productive summer with the kids! My favorite part was always and still would be the swimming and the story time, lol! ??
Yes, swimming and stories are fun! I loved going to the pool everyday. Thanks for your comment, Donna.
We always had a schedule for our son (even now that he is a teen) so he wouldn’t be playing video games all day.
You’re smart! They tend to gravitate to one type of screened time. My kids just wanted to sit in front of the TV all day.! Thanks for your comment,