The Environment: Schedules and Routines (2024)

A daily schedule for an infant and toddler classroom might include:

• Arrival/greet families
• Breakfast/feeding
• Indoor/outdoor developmentally appropriate experiences; naps as needed
• Diapering and toileting
• Small group time with songs
• Lunch/feeding
• Diapering and toileting
• Naps as needed
• Diapering and toileting
• Snack/feeding
• Indoor/outdoor developmentally appropriate experiences
• Departure

When considering your schedule, and particularly diapering or toileting routines, remember infants and toddlers should be checked and changed (or asked to try the toilet) at least once every two hours or more as needed (e.g., at family’s request or for temporary diaper rash). In addition, children should always be immediately changed if they have soiled themselves.

Routines are the consistent, predictable, daily experiences of an infant and toddler, such as greetings, diapering, sleeping, and feeding. The ways caregivers create and support routines enable them to help infants and toddlers build trust and independence. Explaining to infants and toddlers what is happening during routines and transitions can help build a sense of predictability and trust. For example, when diapering, a teacher could say, “I’m going to take your pants off now, OK?” Or, when preparing to eat, “First we need to wash our hands, and then we can have a snack.” It is important for teachers to help interpret children’s experiences by acknowledging their feelings (“I bet you are hungry, aren’t you?”). Using songs to accompany routines can reduce stress during transitions and make these experiences more enjoyable for children and teachers. They can also serve as a cue for children about the upcoming activity, e.g., a “clean up” song before going outside to play. In addition, as we will discuss in the Positive Guidance course, giving children warnings about an upcoming transition can help them feel more in control and prepared for the next part of the day (“In five minutes we will clean up snack. Does anyone else need something to eat?”). As children get older, you can begin to give them more autonomy in making decisions about their schedules. You can say things like, “Would you like your diaper changed now or in two minutes?” or “It is time to go outside. Would you like me to put your hat on you, or would you like to do it?”

Jim Greenman, Anne Stonehouse, and Gigi Schweikert (2007) recommend these ways to enhance caring routines:

• Provide adequate time between your interactions.
• Talk directly to each individual about what you are doing, and speak in a positive tone.
• Acknowledge and compromise your own feelings by putting the individual first.
• Offer opportunities for autonomy, but be available to help.
• Position yourself so that you can monitor others.
• Communicate with parents and respect their culture, diversity, and views.

Time spent in interactions during diapering, feeding, toileting, etc. also encourages children’s learning. For example, we can encourage language development during a feeding with an infant by describing foods, tastes, and smells. “Oooh, I smell the peaches. Do you? Don’t they smell sweet?” Using pictures that show routines like sleeping or diapering can help older infants and toddlers anticipate what will happen next. Time spent holding and cuddling an infant during feeding builds strong relationships between teachers and children that are the foundation of learning during the infant and toddler years. Demonstrating the steps in a routine (e.g., hand washing), explaining aloud what you are doing, and including pictures that show the steps in the routine are all ways that caregivers can help toddlers become familiar with routines and learn how to complete them more independently.

Infants and toddlers make sense of their worlds when routines meet their needs and are completed in familiar ways. Infants and toddlers with special medical or developmental needs may have requirements that differ from those of the other children, and accommodations are necessary in caregiving routines.

With young infants, the caregiver must be especially responsive, nurturing, and flexible in meeting the child’s needs. Over time, routines become more predictable, which allows for similar and consistent interactions. With this predictability, infants and toddlers feel understood and are able to affect the world around them. Over time, infants and toddlers learn that certain actions usually follow others, and they learn to trust their caregivers.

By participating in daily routines, infants and toddlers receive the message that they are capable of doing important things. Participation in enjoyable and meaningful routines helps foster healthy development and security and builds self-confidence. Offer opportunities for self-help. While most toddlers cannot put their coats on completely by themselves, they often enjoy taking part in the process. A toddler might hold his arm out or complete the zipping once you have started it. Encouraging infants and toddlers to take part in routines helps them become more self-sufficient and take pride in their attempts and accomplishments. However, it is important to remember that not all cultures view early independence and participation in routines in the same way. Caregivers can connect with and learn families’ ideas about daily routines, as well as about what is most important and valued.

For toddlers, especially those with special needs, pictures that help support their successful engagement in routines can be incredibly helpful. For example, you could display a small series of pictures near the sink to remind children about the necessary hand-washing steps. Or, perhaps near the snack table, there is a small series of pictures that reminds them about the important steps before (e.g., washing hands, gathering napkin) and after (cleaning up space, throwing trash away) having snack. You can find more information on how to support all children in your setting in the References & Resources section of this lesson.