Brush teeth before breakfast?! What's the point of that?

But seriously - kids don't read. I'm not saying they can't read, but statistically, people spend very little time reading signs, labels, posters, etc (typically under 10 seconds). You're probably better off creating something that has some kind of positive feedback, such as a sticker chart. Even a little chart that has a box to check is more interactive than this poster idea.

This is a very cute print, but I can't get over the scheduled bathroom time. And parents who use the word "potty".

For a second I thought this was for adults, and I was like, wait, do I really need an iphone app to remind me to use the bathroom?

Then I read the article. Now everything makes sense.

I love her routine charts! I just wish they were edit-able so that I could move things around for our own schedule needs...

I think this chart is most useful for kids who do not yet read- the pictures are great for them (and the words are a bonus to help them along to reading). I found a chart to be very helpful for my daughter when she was about 3 (and not reading). I used photos that I printed from the internet and it helped her remember what to do.

Literally every parent of young children that I know uses the word "potty." And every kid I know needs to be reminded to use it, so I am glad to see it on the schedule.

Also, lots of people brush their teeth before breakfast- we do in my family- to get rid of all the yucky bacteria that builds up overnight. I guess it would be best to brush again after breakfast, but we just don't have time for that.

You have to schedule bathroom time before bed because otherwise kids will use having to go to the bathroom as an excuse to get out of bed. It makes sense. Also, we used charts like this when I was a kid and every time we completed a task we would get to put a penny in a bank. When there was enough money in the bank (it really added up pretty quickly since there were several tasks every morning/evening and several children in the family) we'd get to use it on a fun family outing.

KD, you're supposed to brush at least twice a day. Bacteria build up in your mouth overnight while you sleep and your saliva production is low, so brushing in the morning gets rid of all that build-up.

Eating food helps remove some bacteria as well, of course, since the food scrapes againt your teeth, but it doesn't do as good a job as brushing and flossing.

Obviously I brush my teeth in the morning. I brush my teeth at least three times a day, and always in the morning. But why would I want to go to work with breakfast breath? I shower, eat, dress, and brush my teeth as part of my hair/makeup routine. No morning breath, and no breakfast breath. Best of all - no coffee breath!

Thank you for this post. My daughter is ADD and I've been wanting to make her a visual routine reminder but lacked the computer/artistic skills to make it attractive. This will give us a hand. Thanks!
P.S Even though young kids can't read, they can look at the pictograms and it will help them remember what was said when you previously explained it to them.

I'm a child/family therapist, and I really like this. As people said, no, most people don't read signs and things around them, but they really need to. The generation that's about to be adults tend to not notice things unless they're jumping out at them in a multimedia sort of way and tend to be way dependent on adults/authority figures.

I love the idea of asking a child to go look at a sign rather than expect to be walked through something. Toddlers can look at schedules as long as they have pictures and have been shown to them a few times (we use these with groups of two-year-olds at work), school-aged kids can look at printouts like guidelines for doing laundry or deep-cleaning a room, teens can find somewhere to look up damn near anything they might want to do! Quit always needing to ask someone. And get offa my lawn!

By the way, mevangelinep, my spouse has AD/HD and tends to forget things, and we have a note on the door listing things to remember. I'm working on making a more permanent and a bit more classy reminder. Probably going to go with a multimedia collage piece with money, keys, phone, lunch that looks to other people just like a piece of weird art sitting on our key shelf by the door.