If your kids need a little help getting through their daily tasks, and you’re tired of nagging, try giving them a personalized summer daily checklist to keep them on track!
As parents, one of our main jobs is to guide our kids toward being kind human beings who take responsibility for their own well-being.
No pressure, right?
At some point, you won’t be there to remind them to brush their teeth every morning, put on clean clothes, and generally take care of themselves and their surroundings.
You also probably don’t love being the nagging mom reminding them over and over to do the same things.
Still, most kids aren’t quite ready to fly solo in the “taking care of business” department.
If your kids are anything like mine, they occasionally forget to brush their teeth, and they may not completely see the value in helping around the house. Some days it may seem like they can’t do anything on their own (like finding a clean pair of socks).
But in reality, there are small and simple things you can do as a parent to nudge them in the right direction.
One of those things is using a daily checklist. Have you ever used one with your kids?
This strategy has been a game-changer at our house.
Why using a daily checklist works for kids
- It takes the pressure off of you as the parent. You don’t have to be the nag anymore…or keep track of all the things. You just point the kids to their checklist and allow them to take responsibility.
- It empowers kids. Our kids can’t meet our expectations if they don’t know what they are. By writing down a list of daily tasks, we set our kids up for success. They can look at the list and know exactly what they need to do to earn the privileges associated with completing the list.
- It keeps everyone on track. For kids who struggle with focus, a written list can be particularly helpful at helping them succeed at accomplishing what needs to be done. Kids’ attention spans are short, and it’s hard for them to hold several tasks in their minds at once. Giving them a list to refer to helps them know where to look when they don’t know what to do next. It’s a simple strategy that can have a big impact.
How to use this daily checklist
You can set up the expectations any way you like. We have the rule that checklists have to be done before the kids have screen time or play with friends.
We also give them allowance at the end of the week if they have completed their checklist every day (M-F). Weekends are a little loosey-goosey around here.
I laminated our checklists and attached them to clipboards that hang on the wall in our kitchen, along with a dry erase pen for marking off each task. Once all the boxes for one day have been checked, we check off the box for that day of the week at the top, and repeat the next day. We wipe everything clean on the weekends and start over on Monday again.
What makes this checklist different than the other 532 thousand on the internet?
It’s editable!
I hate when I find a really great printable online, but something about it doesn’t quite work for me. Especially with daily checklists, everyone’s routines are different. Different families, and even different kids within those families, need to have a checklist tailored specifically to them.
Most checklists either already have the tasks listed for you, which may not fit your family, or they just leave blank lines. Handwriting my own tasks is fine, but I like the look of the typed lists better (and then my kids can’t erase them!).
Enter EDITABLE printables.
Using the free, web-based graphic design tool Canva, I created a fully-customizable template that you can use to create checklists for each of your kids. You can easily edit text and colors to make the checklist exactly the way you want.
How to get your own customizable checklist
If you’re interested in having your own printable checklist, click the link below!
The link will take you to my shop where you can purchase the editable template for a couple of dollars. Purchase once, and you can use the template for as many kids (in your household) as you would like! If you realize after a few weeks that you need to make some adjustments to the checklist, no problem! You’ll have access to it forever and can continue to make changes and print as many copies as you need.
Note: You do need to have a Canva account to access and edit the template. A basic account is free, and that’s all you’ll need to use all the features of this template.
Creating simple systems like this one can have a huge impact on your summer. Enjoy!
Need more help getting your ducks in a row for summer? Try these resources:
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