The best stay at home toddler schedule that helps keep everyone sane. A 30-minute breakdown of our daily routine with a toddler and what our day looks like.
Staying at home with a toddler can seem pretty daunting. Especially if you have a smaller house and don’t have a designated space for your toddler to play or keep all of their toys (queue hand raise).
Having a schedule or structured plan for each day can be a great help!
A schedule doesn’t mean your day has to be boring or even repetitive. But, having some structure and having a daily plan that you can refer back to throughout the day can help keep everyone sane.
It also can keep your kids from getting bored since their day will have some variety and different activities. And they will also learn what to expect next in the day.
I really like schedules for myself and my kids and have had daily routines set up since they were just a few months old. To help keep on schedule I have been LOVING this block scheduling planner!
Don’t know how to get started with a schedule? START HERE for my 5 step plan >>> 2 Month Old Baby Schedule (Even if your baby is older this will be helpful)
If you are looking for more toddler schedules or schedules/routines for younger babies check out my schedule series:
- 4 Month Old Baby Schedule
- 6 month Old Sample Schedule
- 10 Month Schedule – 2 Naps
- 1 Year Old Schedule
- Ultimate 1 Nap Schedule
- Newborn and Toddler Schedule
Morning
I will start off by saying I am not a morning person. So if this is you I definitely feel ya! I am not really a night person either, I am kind of a middle-of-the-day person. If that is even a thing?
Our mornings don’t start early, but if i’ve learned its necessary to get up before the kids, get dressed, and have some coffee. Sometimes i’ll even get some work done before anyone else gets up!
My kids normally sleep until about 7:30am so that is when our schedule starts, but if yours sleep earlier or later, feel free to adjust the schedule as needed!
The morning is normally the time we do our chores, pick up the house, get dressed, and then do a structured activity.
My toddler loves helping with chores and 1-2 is a great age to get them started with helping out. Here are some ideas for “chores” for this age group:
- help sort the laundry, carry it to the laundry room, and put clothes in the dryer
- help load the dishwasher
- help take non-breakable items out of the dishwasher and put them in drawers, cabinets, or on the counter.
- put away own toys
- put shoes in the closet
- help vacuum (my son LOVES to help with his toy vacuum)
- help wipe up messes or clean windows or counters
- help feed the dog or fill water bowl
- dry mop/swiffer or help dust
Once chores are done, we then have a set snack time around 10:30 am. If my toddler asks for a snack or seems extra cranky before then, we might have the snack a little earlier. But we have a set snack time to avoid snacking all morning.
Television
After our morning snack I allow my toddler some TV time. He also has designated TV time a few other times per day.
My toddler didn’t watch any TV until his younger brother was born (when my toddler was 16 months old).
I was desperate to find some way to entertain my toddler while I nursed and gave bottles so that he wasn’t climbing all over me during these times. And so it became TV time and it has worked great for us!
I only allow him to watch TV during these certain times per day and he very rarely asks for it other times. On the weekends or other days when his dad is home, I try to entertain him other ways before turning on the TV.
If you are a family that doesn’t watch much TV you can definitely fill that space with other activities, like reading books, doing puzzles or more free play time.
Nap Time
Lunch is around 12:30pm (Check out my post on what my toddler eats for lunch!)
After lunch is nap time. My toddler loves his nap time. He has always been a pretty good napper since we sleep trained with the Babywise philosophy when he was very young.
His pre-nap time routine consists of playing quietly in his room, diaper change, closing his blinds and curtains, turning on his sound machine, and then going down in his crib for a nap.
We practice “crib time”, so even if he wakes up early he normally lays quietly until nap time is over around 3:30 pm.
Room Rotation
One thing that has helped keep us sane while staying at home is having a room rotation. My toddler really likes to be in the same room with me, so its not like he will run off and play in a room by himself.
Therefore, I try to have him play in different rooms throughout the day so that he doesn’t get as bored.
We don’t have a playroom, so those rooms are the living room and his bedroom. If you have a playroom or another space for playing, you definitely can and should add that into the room rotation!
In general, we keep the more stimulating toys out in the living room and some of the quieter toys in his bedroom, since that is where we go before nap and before bedtime.
We also keep things like books in both rooms so that he always has the opportunity to “read”.
Afternoon
After my toddler gets up from his nap, he has a milk, snack, and some TV time.Our afternoons are pretty quiet and are a little less structured than our mornings.
My husband gets home around 4:30pm so he is able to play with our toddler and supervise some activities while I am prepping dinner (which I am very thankful for!).
If the weather is nice, this is also the time we like to get outside or go for a walk!
Evening
After dinner can either be fairly relaxing, or survival mode until bedtime! Basically it just depends on my toddler’s mood and how the rest of the day went.
One parent normally supervises playing in the living room while the other one cleans up dinner.
He has been loving the bath recently and will take a nice long bath and is normally very happy. We have always done a bath almost every night as part of our bedtime routine!
After the bath we like to hand out in his room with some less stimulating toys.
Right before bed, he helps us fill his humidifier and then we read two books before saying goodnight. We put in him in his sleep sack, turn on his sound machine and say goodnight.
Toddler Schedule Breakdown
Below is our schedule broken down into 30-60 minute increments.
- 7:30 am Wake up, 30 min TV time (mom feeds baby)
- 8:00 am BREAKFAST
- 8:30 am Clean up breakfast and get dressed
- 9:00 am Chores (Pick up, dishwasher, laundry, vacuum)
- 9:30 am Morning walk (if weather allows)
- 10:00 am Structured Activity (see post for 1 year old activities) or Backyard time
- 10:30 am SNACK
- 11:00 am Free play in living room
- 11:30am 30 min TV time (mom feeds baby)
- 12:30 pm LUNCH
- 12:45 – 1:15 pm Free play in bedroom & nap time routine
- 1:30 – 3:30 pm NAP TIME
- 3:30 pm SNACK
- 4:00 pm 30 min TV time (mom feeds baby)
- 4:30 pm Structured Activity (see post for 1 year old activities) or Backyard time
- 5:30 pm DINNER
- 6:00 pm Free play in living room
- 6:30 pm Evening walk (if weather allows)
- 7:00 pm Bath
- 7:15 – 7:45 pm Play in Room, Books, Bedtime Routine
- 8:00 pm BEDTIME
Thanks for stopping by and checking out our toddler schedule! You might also like these related posts:
- 9 Must Have Potty Training Supplies
- 10 Toddler Snack Ideas
- 15 Easy Toddler Lunch Ideas For 1-year-olds
