Congratulations mama. You have kept your baby alive for a whole year and that is no mean feat! And now you are looking into a toddler schedule!
Remember the heart palpitations when they first roll over on the bed and you dash to catch them so they don’t fall off? Or when they start to crawl and get stuck halfway under the sofa?
But here you are. A whole year later. And your baby in ONE WHOLE PIECE. Good on you!!! Give yourself a pat on the back. Your hard work is about to pay off. If your baby is not sleeping through the night yet, don’t despair. It is right around the corner.
Are you still fretting over keeping your house spick and span? Be prepared to clean after your toddler every minute then. Children at this age are very curious and love to “help you” by reorganising and rearranging things around the house.
Your child understands you more and more now and can say certain words like “no”, “yah”, “mama”, “dada” and even “thank you”. Include him in your daily activities by letting him help put the dirty clothes into the washer with you, or loading and unloading the dishwasher. This helps them with their fine and gross motor skills.
WHY ARE TODDLER SCHEDULES AND ROUTINES IMPORTANT?
Having your baby on a routine is very important because it gives structure to their day and helps them to anticipate rules and sequences and how to expect their day to go. They can clearly anticipate feeding and sleep times, for example and go down easier. They are also excited and ready to take part in play activities because they know when it is about time to engage in them.
If taken seriously, creating a toddler schedule for your child is not a Herculean task and can be done in a few minutes. These few minutes will give you a whole lot of peace and your household will run smoother than without it. Toddler schedules will also give your child a boost in positive moods and life in general.
In this post, you will find a sample schedule for your toddler and suggestions for meals. Just click on the link below for a copy.
If you’d rather build your own schedule, take into account when your child usually wakes up naturally and set his estimated bedtime for 10-14 hours after that and fill in his day with ideally two naps, meal times, snack times and activity times.
You are doing great mama. Keep it up!
TODDLER SCHEDULE NOTES
- He was more and more independent at meal times and wanted to feed himself rather than be fed. So we made sure to have a lot more foods that he could pick at by himself, like broccoli, rice, pasta, etc.
- I found that he slept easier when he was in his pram and we went for a walk in the brisk weather.
- During teething periods, he was extra fussy and his appetite was low. That’s totally normal and passes when the teething discomfort is over. I overcompensated with oatmeal and yogurt because he was wild about it during teething periods especially.
- He was taking 2 naps consistently at this stage of 2-3 hours. I did notice with my oldest however that this cut down to one nap a day at about age 3.
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