Visual schedule for toddlers

What is a toddler visual schedule?

Grown-ups run on calendars, grocery lists and to-do lists. A visual schedule is the same idea at toddler size: a few pictures in a row, in the order things happen.

You point and say the word: "Breakfast." The spoken word is gone in a second. The picture is still there when your child looks back.

It is not a clock or a reward chart. There are no times on it and no stickers to earn. It shows one thing: what's next. For the other kinds of picture schedule, see our visual schedules hub.

The two rules behind Carissa's schedule

The Doctor Carissa shop began with a photo schedule Carissa Spisak made for her own 2-year-old. Her setup guide for the Photo Visual Schedule starts with two rules, and this page follows them.

1. "The photo has to be the real thing." Your front door, their nap mat, their sitter's face, all shot from their eye level. In her words: "A toddler doesn't read a cartoon school bus as their school."
2. "Show what is happening, not what isn't." A photo can't show "no". On a day without school, put up where you are going: the park, grandma's, home. Every card shows something real.

Where do you start?

One board at a time, in this order from her guide:

1. A first then board for a week or two. Two photos: "First shoes, then park." Our first then board page has a free one.
2. A strip for the part of the day that's hardest: the morning rush, or bedtime.
3. A week board last, for "Is today a school day?" Her guide's reason: "'Next' makes sense to a toddler long before 'Thursday' does."

How many cards should you put up?

Fewer than you think. Our strip has three slots, and three is plenty for a young toddler. Three cards can cover a toddler's whole day in big pieces: the morning outing, nap, and who is there after nap. Set it up the night before, and add more only when three is easy.

• You can say it in one breath. With three cards, you can point to every one and name it before your child wanders off.
• Small arms have a short reach. Your child moves the cards. A long row puts the last ones too far away.
• You reset it every day. Three cards go back up in a minute.

There is no magic number. One university guide for parents puts it this way: take a guess, try it, and adjust. When three is easy, the full kit's strips tape together for up to 12 steps.

Which photos should you take?

The rules from Carissa's shot list:

• From your child's eye level, about 3 feet up. Crouch.
• One subject, centered, on a plain background. Square crop.
• The real thing, not a picture of something like it: their actual school door, not the building or the sign.
• All on the same day, in similar light, so the cards look like one set. Take a few of each and pick later.

Call people by the name you say out loud. If your child calls her "Nonna", the card is Nonna. For a toddler, you can leave the word line under the photo blank: the photo does the work. Add the word you say out loud ("snack", not "morning snack time") as your child gets older.

A standard 4 by 6 photo print holds exactly six 2-inch squares. In your phone's photo app, make a grid 2 across and 3 down with no borders, and order it as a regular 4 by 6 print.

Where does it live?

Hang the strip where the routine happens, at your child's eye level and within their reach.

• Low on the fridge door for morning cards: the bottom half of the door is toddler height.
• By the front door for the cards about leaving the house.
• On the bedroom wall for bath, pajamas, book and bed.

Hold the cards with hook and loop dots (Velcro is one brand): the hook side on the strip and the soft loop side on the cards, so loose cards don't stick to clothes and couches. Skip small loose magnets at toddler height: the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission lists small, high-powered magnets as a serious danger to children.

The all-done pocket

Every strip ends in a pocket. When a part of the day is over, your child pulls that card off and posts it in. Carissa's guide puts it this way: "They can't read a clock, but they can see three cards left, then two, then one. The shrinking row of cards is the clock."

Let your child do the moving as soon as they can reach. No pocket yet? An envelope taped to the fridge does the job.

How to introduce it

Her guide's short version: narrate and move, don't quiz. Nobody expects a toddler to understand it on day one.

1. Pick one part of the day. Morning or bedtime, not the whole day.
2. Set it up together. Let your child hand you the cards or press them on.
3. Go to the strip before each step. Point, say the word, then go and do it.
4. Come back when the step is over. "Breakfast, all done." Pull the card, post it, point to the next one: "Next, car."
5. Use the same words every time. "All done." "Next." Everyone who cares for your child should say it the same way.
6. Rebuild it the night before, together. A two-minute walk-through at bedtime: "Tomorrow: school, then nap, then Nonna."
7. Keep ordinary days ordinary. The same cards most days are not clutter. They are what makes a different day stand out.

When the day changes

Days change: the doctor, a rainy park day, grandma arriving early. Carissa's guide says to put change on the board, not around it.

1. Change the card while your child is looking. Take "park" down and put "home" up together.
2. Say it in a few words as you point. "Rain. Home today."
3. Give a heads-up before a switch. A timer, a song or a funny noise works as a signal that something is about to end.
4. Use a "?" card for a surprise you can't photograph yet. Put it up the night before and say it plainly: "Tomorrow is a surprise day. We'll find out together."
5. Photograph a new thing early. A new room, a new teacher or the hospital door can go on the board before the day comes.

When it isn't working

These are the common snags from Carissa's guide, in short:

• They ignore it. Too much at once is the usual cause. Go back to first and then for a week, hang it at their eye level, and use it at one fixed moment every day.
• They pull all the cards off. Normal: they're interested. Give them a job ("you post the card when it's done").
• They don't recognize a card. It's almost always the photo: too much background, taken from adult height, or a picture of something like the thing instead of the thing. Take it again.

Keep a few spare cards in an envelope nearby, for the ones that go missing.

Frequently asked questions

What age can you start a visual schedule with a toddler?

There is no set starting age. A family handout from the National Center for Pyramid Model Innovations describes picture tools like these for children as young as 12 months. Carissa made her first one for her own 2-year-old: a week board and day strips. Her setup guide suggests other families start with a first then board.

How many pictures should a toddler visual schedule have?

A few. Our strip has three slots, enough for a toddler's day in big pieces: the morning outing, nap and who is there after nap. Try it for a few days, then add or remove a card.

Do only autistic children use visual schedules?

No. Picture schedules appear in general handouts for families of all young children, such as those from the National Center for Pyramid Model Innovations, and in guides written for families of autistic children, such as Indiana University's. Preschool teachers also use them with a whole class to show the day's routine.

Is a visual schedule the same as a toddler routine chart?

A routine chart is one kind of visual schedule: a printed page with the steps of one routine fixed in place, like bedtime. A day strip like ours uses loose cards that you reorder, swap and take down as each step ends.

Can I make a toddler visual schedule without a printer?

Yes. Use photos from your phone printed at a pharmacy, cut pictures from magazines or food boxes, or draw on index cards. One university guide for parents points out that a schedule does not have to be computer printed and laminated. Clear packing tape over the cards makes them last longer.