A realistic 2 year old schedule including meal times, screen time, and indoor/outdoor play times. Sticking to a schedule can help toddlers know what to expect each day and prevent melt downs from being hungry or overtired.
I’m a mom of two and am sharing the schedule that my two year old follows most days. This is a realistic schedule that includes screen time, multiple snacks each day, and lots of free play and independent play.
This schedule is perfect for stay-at-home moms, work-at-home moms, a weekend schedule for working moms, or any mom or caregiver that is looking for a little more structure in their toddler’s day.
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Toddler Schedule: Meal Time
A large part of our daily schedule revolves around meal times. We follow fairly set meal times, unless we have a planned activity or something else that keeps us out of the house. When my boys were little we followed the Babywise Method (based on the book On Becoming Babywise) and this was a great segway to our current meal time schedule.
Meals are at approximately at:
Breakfast – 8:00 am (Toddler Breakfast Ideas: Toddler Breakfast Bowls: Fun Toddler Breakfast Idea, Easy Toddler Breakfast Ideas)
Lunch – 12:00 pm (Toddler Lunch Ideas: 27 Easy Toddler Lunch Ideas For 1-year-olds, Quick 5-Minute Toddler Meal Ideas)
Dinner – 5:30 pm (Toddler Dinner Ideas: Self-Feeding 1 Year Old Dinner Ideas, 33 Toddler Dinner Ideas)
Snacks – 10:00 am, 3:30 pm, 7:00 pm (Toddler Snack Ideas: 11 Toddler Snack Plate Ideas, 10 Toddler Snack Ideas)
Toddler Schedule: Screen Time
Whether or not you allow screen time is up to you and your family. The best thing about parenthood is that you can do what works best for your family!
We do allow screen time, but I try to limit it to just a few set times per day. When we follow a schedule when to allow screen time my toddler knows what to expect and knows that when it’s done for that time of day, he will have an opportunity later (or tomorrow). This (for the most part) helps avoid meltdowns when stopping screen time and moving on to the next activity.
Screen time for us means either watching TV or watching/playing on his tablet; we use a Fire 7 Kids Tablet and it has worked perfect for our 2-year-old. We love that it comes with 1 free year of Amazon Kids+, before this my toddler struggled with navigating his tablet, but Amazon Kids+ is made just for kids and has thousands of parent-approved shows, books, and educational apps (and also parental controls).
Toddler Schedule: When to Drop the Nap
Most toddlers drop their nap around 3 years old, but this can vary from 2-4 years old depending on the sleep needs of the child and the family’s schedule.
Around the age of two and especially after 2.5 it is common for toddlers to fight naps because of their development and testing boundaries. It is also common for toddlers to skip naps some days, but still need a nap the following day.
Their nap needs can bounce around, but keep offering the nap until your toddler skips their nap for at least 7 days in a row. Because most 2 year old toddlers do nap, the below schedule does include set nap time, but if yours does not nap anymore you can adjust the schedule by pulling bedtime back 30-60 minutes.
Toddler Schedule: Playroom Play
If you have a playroom or a dedicated play space for your toddler, it can be a great space to contain all your toddler’s toys and keep them occupied for a bit. Whatever you have in your home for your kids to play is fine enough, they don’t NEED a dedicated play space, but if you have the room it can make the toys and clutter a little less overwhelming.
Here are some activities that my 2 year old does in the playroom:
- Bins of toys that are rotated throughout the day and week
- Cars, trucks, diggers, blocks, dinosaur figurines, play food, learning toys (check out this post for learning toy ideas)
- Mini slide, mini trampoline, climbing play mats (we have these play mats from Amazon and love them!)
- Melissa & Doug Chunky Puzzles
- Fisher Price Little People Cars & Sets
Toddler Schedule: Chores & Pick Up Time
As a stay at home mom, I have a lot to get done throughout the day like chores, cleaning, cooking, working on this blog, and trying to find some time to relax myself. It can be tempting to wait until your toddler naps to try and get all of the cleaning done in that short time, but I prefer to take that short break to relax or get a little work done.
It can be great for young toddlers to help with chores and picking up, even if they are just watching or doing a small part. We have set chore times and pickup times throughout the day and my toddler is expected to help or play in his playroom while I get some stuff done (now I won’t say this always happens, but we are working on it!).
Here are some examples of ways that toddlers can help with chores and picking up:
- help unload the dishwasher
- help bring laundry to the washer
- help vacuum (my boys love these dyson play vaccuums from Amazon–we have two of them–and bring them out every time I vacuum the house).
- pick up certain toys (e.g, all the diggers or a certain color toy)
- help take out the trash – give them a light bag or the bathroom trash to carry
- wipe down surfaces like the coffee table or end tables
Sample 2 Year Old Schedule
Now on to the best part! Our daily schedule. We do follow a schedule most every day, but some days we do stray if we have an outing or something going on. However, I have found that both of my boys and myself do much better if we eat around the same time each day and if they take their nap around the same time so we do try to stick to the schedule as much as possible.
- 7:30 am – wake up, TV time while mom makes breakfast
- 8:00 am – Breakfast
- 8:30 am – get dressed, brush teeth, room play
- 9:00 am – help with chores or play in playroom
- 10:00 am – Snack
- 10:30 am – daily activity (run errands, go for a walk, go to the park, backyard play or indoor activity)
- 12:00 pm – Lunch
- 12:30 pm – break to pick up toys
- 12:45 pm – wind down, room play, nap routine
- 1-2:00 pm – Nap (1-2:30pm for younger toddlers or those with higher sleep needs)
- 2:00 pm – watch tv or play on tablet
- 3:00 pm – Snack
- 3:30 pm – backyard play or play in playroom
- 5:30 pm – Dinner
- 6:00 pm – play with dad
- 7:00 pm – Snack (smoothie)
- 7:15 pm – break to pick up toys
- 7:30 pm – Bath
- 8:00 pm – room play and quiet time, bedtime routine
- 8:30 pm – Bed
Does your 2-year-old still nap? Let me know in the comments below or if your daily schedule looks similar.
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