Free printable bedtime routine chart

The American Academy of Pediatrics suggests a predictable nighttime routine, the same steps in the same order, and a chart on the wall is how a young child can see what those steps are. This one shows each step with a photo of the real thing: the tub with their bath toy in it, their pajamas on the bed, tonight's book. The morning is on the other half of the same page.

It is the routine card from our Routine Charts set, free as a single page.

What's in the free file?

• Page 1: how to use it. The photos to take, printing at the right size, wall chart or folded card, and the steps on each half.
• Page 2: the chart. Two halves side by side, "my morning" in orange and "my bedtime" in blue, each about 3.7 inches wide and 7.3 inches tall.
• Eight numbered steps on each half, in two columns. Each step has a 1 inch square photo frame with the step printed under it.
• A name line at the bottom of each half, and a fold line down the middle.
• Two sizes: US Letter and A4, as two files. The frames print at the same size on both.

The printed bedtime steps are: bath, pajamas, potty, brush teeth, book, song, hugs, sleep. The morning steps are: wake up, potty, get dressed, breakfast, brush teeth, brush hair, shoes on, backpack.

What goes in each frame?

A photo of the real thing, from your child's eye level. These ideas come from the shot list in our full set.

For the morning side: their pillow and blanket for wake up, today's clothes laid out flat for get dressed, their bowl at their place for breakfast, their brush on the counter, their shoes by the door and their backpack. The potty and brush teeth photos can be the same ones as at bedtime.

How to make the bedtime routine chart

1. Take the photos, one per step, from your child's eye level. One subject in each, on a plain background, all on the same day.
2. Print the photos 1 inch square. Twenty-four 1 inch photos fit on one 4 x 6 print, which covers both halves of the chart with room for spares.
3. Print page 2 on cardstock if you have it, at 100% scale with background graphics on. Check the 1-inch line at the bottom with a ruler.
4. Glue a photo into each frame and write your child's name on the line.
5. Laminate the chart so it lasts through wet hands after bath time.
6. Hang it where bedtime happens, at your child's eye level: by the bathroom door or in their room.

Wall chart or two-sided card?

The page works both ways. As a wall chart, laminate it flat and hang it up: both routines are in view, morning on the left and bedtime on the right. As a card, cut around the outside, fold on the middle line, glue the two halves back to back, then laminate. That gives one card about 3.7 by 7.3 inches, morning on one side and bedtime on the other, for the bag, the car, a night at grandma's or a hotel.

How to use it each night

1. Start at the same time each night and go through the steps in the same order.
2. Point to each photo as you say the step, in a few words: "Bath. Then pajamas."
3. Let your child find the next step. Ask "What's next?" and wait for them to point.
4. Keep the hour before bed quiet. A family handout from the National Center for Pyramid Model Innovations (NCPMI) suggests books, soft music, a favorite blanket or a stuffed animal in that hour.
5. End with the morning side. The same handout suggests telling your child what will happen when they wake up. Point to "wake up" and "breakfast" before lights out.

NCPMI's handout on bedtime says to use a visual schedule made with photos, clipart or objects so a child can see the steps in their bedtime routine. Its handout on visual schedules suggests starting with a hard time of day (bedtime is one of its examples) and including your child in making it: they can draw the pictures, or you can photograph them doing each step.

Does the order of the steps matter?

Keep the order the same every night: a chart only shows "what's next" if next is always the same. The order on our chart follows the American Academy of Pediatrics' Brush, Book, Bed routine: brush teeth, then read a favorite book or two, then bed at a regular time. The AAP's point is that the toothbrush is the last thing to touch the teeth before bed, so the book comes after brushing, not before.

If your bedtime has a different order, or a step that isn't printed (a bedtime prayer, a night light, a cup of water), the full set has a blank version of this card and a blank checklist for routines of your own.

A morning routine chart on the same page

Bedtime winds down; mornings run against the clock to get out the door. The morning half lists eight steps from wake up to backpack. Hang the chart where your child gets dressed, or make two copies, one for the bedroom and one for the front door.

For the nights when one step is the sticking point, a first then board pulls it out on its own: "First pajamas, then book." Our visual schedules for kids cover the other routines of the day.

Frequently asked questions

What should be on a bedtime routine chart?

The steps of your child's own bedtime, in order, one picture each. Ours prints eight: bath, pajamas, potty, brush teeth, book, song, hugs, sleep, with a frame above each step for a photo of the real thing.

How many steps should a bedtime routine chart have?

Our chart has eight a side, printed in order, and you can point to just the first few at the start. A visual schedule handout from the National Center for Pyramid Model Innovations suggests starting with one time of day, such as bedtime, and expanding once it has become routine.

Should a bedtime routine chart use photos or drawings?

A bedtime handout from the National Center for Pyramid Model Innovations suggests a visual schedule made with photos, clipart or other objects. This chart has a frame for a photo of the real thing above every step, and a drawing your child makes can go in a frame too.

Should brushing teeth come before or after the bedtime story?

The American Academy of Pediatrics' Brush, Book, Bed routine puts brushing first, then a book, then bed, so the toothbrush is the last thing to touch the teeth before bed. Our chart follows that order.

Can I use the chart for a morning routine too?

Yes. The free page has a morning half with eight steps from wake up to backpack, next to the bedtime half. Hang the page flat to see both, or fold it into a two-sided card.