The toddler schedule. This is often the first place we look to when the kids are throwing us off. Maybe your child has been refusing naps or taking a long time to fall asleep. Or perhaps her behavior since the new baby arrived hasn’t improved, but grown worse.
Your child could also be starting preschool in a few months, prompting you to start her on a toddler schedule before then. Or maybe you’ve been struggling to find things to do now that your little one is a toddler.
And still yet, you might be looking for a toddler schedule that doesn’t leave her overtired come bedtime after a long, exhausting afternoon.
You may have tried playing with your current schedule to see if doing that helps, but nothing seems to solve the issue. And the ones you’ve found may not accommodate your work hours.
Finding the right toddler schedule that works for you
Many of us look to toddler schedules first for good reason: a solid routine can solve many of the surprising or relentless issues that come up or never seem to go away. It can truly turn things around, especially since it makes your days so much more predictable for your child.
The trick is to stay consistent, so much so that you don’t even have to think about it after a while… and to keep at it, instead of calling it quits after a few days (schedules rely on consistent repetition, after all).
And of course, you also want to find one you can actually do, one that works with your lifestyle as well as with your child’s needs. A toddler schedule is only as effective as the parent and child implementing it. As we all know, there is hardly a one-size-fits-all solution, including with schedules.
You may even find that a new toddler schedule that works wonders for a while needs to be tweaked and experimented with over time. After all, your child grows up and may need fewer naps or different activities. Along with consistency, another key point is to observe and tweak as needed.
15 daily toddler schedules to try
That’s why having examples of toddler schedules can be so useful, whether you’re a stay-at-home mom or working mom.
Below I list 15 different templates to refer to, based on how other families structure their days with their toddlers. I kept the schedules simple and focused on key “pillar” events of the day, namely meals, naps, and bedtime.
You can vary the activities you do in between, or stick to the same activity every day. Looking for ideas? Join my newsletter and you’ll get a set of learning activities to do with your little one. Download the printable pack below—at no cost to you:
I hope you can find one that works for you:
Example #1
- 6:30am wake up
- 8:30am breakfast
- 12pm lunch
- 12:30pm nap
- 2:30pm snack
- 6pm dinner
- 7:30pm bedtime
Example #2
- 8:30am wake up and eat breakfast
- 10:30am snack
- 12:30pm lunch
- 1pm nap
- 3:30pm snack
- 5:30pm dinner
- 7pm bath and bedtime
Example #3
- 6am wake up and drink milk
- 7:30am breakfast
- 9am snack
- 10:30am drink milk and take a nap
- 1pm lunch
- 3pm snack
- 5pm dinner
- 7pm drink milk and bedtime
Example #4
- 7am wake up and drink milk
- 8am breakfast
- 10am snack
- 12pm lunch
- 12:30pm nap
- 3pm snack
- 5pm dinner
- 7:30pm bedtime routine starts
Example #5
- 7am wake up, drink milk, and eat breakfast
- 9:30am snack
- 11am lunch
- 12pm nap
- 3pm snack
- 6pm dinner
- 6:30pm bath
- 7pm bedtime
Example #6
- 7:30am wake up
- 9:15am snack
- 12pm lunch
- 1:30pm nap
- 4:30pm snack
- 6pm dinner
- 7:30pm bath
- 8:30pm bedtime
Example #7
- 7am wake up and drink milk
- 8am breakfast
- 11am lunch
- 11:30am nap
- 2pm snack
- 5:30pm dinner
- 7pm bath
- 7:30pm bedtime
Learn 5 reasons your toddler is going through the 1 year old sleep regression.
Example #8
- 7am wake up and eat breakfast
- 10am snack
- 11am nap
- 1pm lunch
- 3pm snack
- 5pm dinner
- 6pm bath
- 7:30pm bedtime
Example #9
- 8:30am wake up
- 10am breakfast
- 11:30am snack
- 1pm nap
- 3pm (late) lunch
- 7pm dinner
- 8pm bath
- 8:30pm bedtime
Example #10
- 7am wake up and drink milk
- 9am breakfast
- 11:30am snack
- 12:30pm lunch
- 1pm nap
- 3:30pm snack
- 6:30pm dinner
- 7:30pm bath
- 8pm bedtime
Example #11
- 6am wake up and drink milk
- 8:30am breakfast
- 10:30am snack
- 12pm lunch
- 12:30pm nap
- 3:30pm snack and drink milk
- 6pm dinner
- 7pm bath
- 8pm bedtime
Example #12
- 7am wake up
- 7:30am breakfast
- 11am snack
- 12pm lunch
- 1pm nap
- 2:30pm snack
- 5:30pm dinner
- 7:30pm bath
- 8pm bedtime
Example #13
- 6:30am wake up
- 7:30am breakfast
- 9:30am snack
- 11:30am lunch
- 12:30pm nap
- 2:30pm snack
- 5:30pm dinner
- 8pm bath
- 8:30pm bedtime
Example #14
- 6am wake up and eat breakfast
- 9:30am snack
- 11am lunch
- 11:30am nap
- 2pm snack
- 6pm dinner
- 6:45pm bedtime routine
- 7pm bedtime
Example #15
- 7am wake up and eat breakfast
- 9am snack
- 11am lunch
- 12pm nap
- 2pm snack
- 5pm dinner
- 6:45pm bath
- 7:15pm bedtime
Get more tips:
- Toddler Suddenly Refusing Milk? Here’s What to Do
- 1 Year Old Nap Schedule: Examples that Actually Work
- Toddler Waking Up at 5am? What to Do with Early Risers
- Helping Your Toddler Transition from Two Naps to One
- Toddler Routines: How to Structure Your Day
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