Summertime's been more relaxed, but now it's time to get it together. What are some of the challenges families face when they're trying to get into a routine? Amy joined on Ange on Lifestyles to discuss how to develop routines for your kids.

We're a couple of weeks into school, right? It was fine to have some chaos the first week or so, but we're ready to settle in, get things done, and get the kids out the door. But how do you do that? I'm a huge proponent of setting up structured routines in the household. When kids know what to expect, they're more likely to follow it. That doesn't mean they're always going to follow it. It is a training process, so it takes time for everyone in the family to get used to following some sort of a routine.

How do you get everybody on board?

Use Charts + Visuals to Develop Routines

When my kids were little, we used this chart. These were our morning and evening routines, and they used pictures. 

making your bed. Think about your routines—what can you do as part of your routine that will help your household get everybody to school on time; make sure everybody has shoes and clothes; ensure you have clean laundry and the kids' rooms and toys get picked up; and everything gets done in the course of a day. Use pictures on a chart, and even pictures on certain household locations/toy bins/drawers/etc. if needed, to help young children understand what they need to do.

Hold Kids Accountable

I had three little boys all in a row, so trying to keep track of who had done what when—my brain just couldn't hold all of that. Instead of nagging, it was easier to point them back to that routine—to that chart that we hung up on the wall. I would say, "you look at the chart and you tell me if you've done everything on there."

The cute little charts with the pictures, I hung up by their bathroom. In the morning and the evening, they each had their chart. It was one chart with pictures for all the kids when they were little bitty. When they got older, each kid had a customized checklist for morning, after school, and bedtime. 

here were also certain things that only needed to be done a certain day of the week, like the trash routine only needed to be taken to the curb one day a week instead of every single day. So the check boxes would show them which chore needed to be done which day of the week.

It also helps to laminate your chart, and then have each child take a dry erase marker and mark off what they have done. (If you don't have time to create one of your own, we love this magnetic chart from Amazon!) I based their allowance money on how much of the stuff on their list was completed. If you don't hold kids accountable to the expectations you have set, there is no reason for them to do them.

No Child Too Small

One of my strategies with all the kids living in my house is that everybody has to chip in. There's no child too young to start doing some kind of a chore or routine. Can you match these socks? Could you help mommy drag this little laundry basket down the hall? Would you please pick up your toys?

Before they can read, using pictures and labels on everything helps tremendously. As they're able to read and do more, give them more and more responsibility. "Now your clothes are folded. Can you go put your shirts in the shirt drawer? Can you put your pants in the pants drawer?" Having the consistency of them not wondering, "Oh, what's mom going to make me do today?" created a lot less argument. I've already laid out exactly what's required.

This is my favorite list, and I even just used this when my son left for college. This checklist is my standards. When I say, "clean your room," what do I mean by that? They would say, "well, you didn't say I have to . . . (whatever)." So this actually goes into—this is what I expect: no toys, no food, no trash on the floor; none on the desk, none in the dresser, and none on the shelves in the closet. It's that detailed!

Recap

Come up with chores or jobs in your household for every child to help with, making sure they are age-appropriate. Help them become routines by incorporating them daily. Use charts + visuals to help your kids know what is expected of them, and then hold them accountable to completing each item on their list.

For more tips to make the back-to-school rush less stressful, click here!