What's your two year old's routine in terms of eating and sleeping etc?

[alittleteapot]

We've never really gone down the routine road although at various stages dd has fallen naturally into patterns in terms of naps etc which have often corresponded with those laid out in prescriptive books.

Increasingly she responds well to familiar rituals and I think we would all benefit from a more rigid routine. I wouldn't stick to it if it didn't seem to work or make us all happy but my instinct is it would work well for everyone.

So, just interested to hear from those who do have a regular routine what time you do various things - meals, bedtime etc and if there are any other regular elements to your timetable (e.g. storytime, tidy-up time, etc)

btw dd has pretty much dropped all day time naps and we find if she does sleep in the day bedtime becomes very late indeed. Generally she goes to sleep between 8 and 9 and gets up 7/7.30. She has a big porridge breakfast as soon as she's up and generally a light lunch about 12 and a big meal at about 5 followed by porridge again just before bed. Between meal snacks are currently very random. This sounds more like a routine than it is hence asking for the advice!

Thanks

ds is in bed for 7.30pm and is up some time betweem 6.45 and 7.15am. Breakfast is around 8am, and then we take dd to school for 9am. There is a snack around 10/10.30am with lunch around 12pm. There is another snack around 3pm (when picking dd up from school) and then dinner is around 5pm. PJ's are on by 7pm and then teeth get brushed and then it is bedtime stories at around 7.15pm.

Wake up around 6.30, breakfast at 8. Drink mid morning, lunch around 12.30, snack around 3 if he asks, tea at 5, then bath and bed by 7. No nap but post lunch quiet time if we're at home.

My dd is 2.2

She has just gone into a big girls bed and now wakes around 6.30/7.00 in the morning.

She likes to have some cereal pretty much as soon as she wakes, then will have some toast a little later.

She generally has a nap just after lunchtime (around 1.00ish if we're home or wherever she is [car/pram/grandma's sofa] if we're out).

Bedtime is around 7.30.

That's pretty much all the routine she has. She has 2 big [busy] sisters and she has to fit in with them and their hobbies when it comes to meal-times etc.

hmm, sounds like we're pretty much there except dd needs less sleep than others...

Routine? What's that then?

We have nothing to fit in with as we don't do school or nursery or anything, so DD3 (2.5) just eats when she wants to and when the rest of us do, and usually goes to bed 7.30ish - bedtime is the only thing that's remotely the same every day!

Up at 7.30/8am (although this can vary widely) and breakfast straight away, lunch at 12, nap at 12.30 till 2pm, tea at 5.30, start getting ready for bed at 7pm, usually in bed by 7.30, maybe 8pm if she had a long bath or whatever (she only has a bath about every third day depending on how mucky she is)

up around 7 with breakfast nearly straight away. morning snack around 10, lunch between 1130 and 1230 , snack around 3 dinner around 430-530. bath around 6 and bed around 730.

ds1 is 2 and a half.

Wake up - between 6.30 and 7.30
Breakfast - 8ish
Playgroup/toddler group 9.00 - 11.15 (3 days a week)
Snack - 10.30ish
light lunch - 12.30ish
quiet time (sometimes will sleep but not often these days) - after lunch
snack - 3.00ish
tea (bigger meal than lunch) 5.30ish
tidy up toys (ha ha!) 6.30ish
Bath or just get ready for bed 7.00ish followed by
milk/teeth/story/
bed 7.30ish

Im reading with interest. Im 24 weeks PG and DS (2.3) was put into a routine from 3 months old. Friend recommended contented baby.
It did work, he was/is contented and still has up to a 3 hour nap every day !
He goes to bed between 7-8pm depending on how long his nap was and gets up at 6.30-7am.
Has 3 meals a day, eats well and only really gets snacks when he see's them ie-grandma's bearing chocolate etc , otherwise he doesn't bother.
The only thing id say is, he doesn't bend!! In other words, I think there are problems with this kind of strict routine too.
He won't just nod off in his buggy or car seat etc, it has to be in his cot in a perfectly quiet room .
If he doesn't get that sleep for whatever reason - say a kids party in afternoon for example, he is beside himself, doesn't cope at all and can't just sleep anywhere like a lot of kids.
Missing his nap one day can have a knock on effect in his behaviour for days after.
He NEEDS that sleep and it's so not worth missing.
Most of the time, say 85%, Im sooooo glad I put him down all afternoon and I have that great break.
Sometimes, I get frustrated trying to fit my every movement around this strict routine.
Question - do you think It's better to have this break and put new baby into similar routine - fitting more round DS who will go to nursery next year in order to have a break or do you think it is better to have a more adaptable child?
I can't decide. It's very tying at times but of course they will gorw out of naps - I would only have another 3.5 years of rushing home for naps !

DS is 23 months and we've always been fairly routine-driven, though kind of worked it out for ourselves rather than following a book.

Non-nursery days are as follows:
Up at 6.30-7am (usually closer to 6.30)
Nappy change and dressed
Breakfast at 7.30-8am
Snack at 9.30-10am
Lunch at 12.
Upstairs for nappy change and story
Nap 12.30-3pm max but usually 2.5 hours min
Snack on waking
Tea at 5pm
6.10 - Tidy up time as an incentive for:
6.15 - two episodes of Thomas the Tank Engine
6.30 - bath
Into bed and usually asleep by 7pm.

Nursery days are similar but lunch is earlier, naps are shorter and he has tea at 3pm and a further snack when we get in at 5.30.

Activities aren't really scheduled but I am aim for one session of physical activity in the morning to promote tiredness for naptime .

am I the only one who still gives her 2.3yo a cup of milk first thing in the morning at around 7am - then breakfast at around 8am?

ooh ok. we do have a routine - although its more lax on a non-nursery day.
DS is 2.6

Wakes these days usually around 6.30 sometimes before (arrgh) Milk on waking.
Downstairs and breakfast around 8ish
Snacks 10.30ish
Nap 11.30-1pm if he has one - not always. I often have to wake him otherwise bedtime is a nightmare. I also have to drive him to sleep. Rod/own back situation.

Lunch about half hour after he wakes up.
Off to nursery between 1 and 2pm
They have snacks at nursery at 4.30pm
Home at 6pm - milk and more snacks
(When not at nursery, we tend to have his 'dinner' about 5pm instead of the snacks)
Bathtime about 7.15pm followed by stories and bedtime.

DS (2 and a half) has milk too Meep

6.30am up, nappy off into pants, story in room

Down for milk and biscuit

8.00 Breakfast

T.V

8.30 Changed and ready for the day, brush teeth.

9.00 onwards out for the day, play, friends over, shopping etc

10.00 fruit/snack

12.00 Lunch then story

Sleep 12.30-3.00 either at home or in buggy if out

3.00 snack and then out, play or friends etc

5.00 Dinner

5.30 Walk, play etc

6.15 milk and then bath, brush teeth into P'J's and nappy. 2 stories (have to have a set number otherwise Ds would be there all night!) and then bed

7.00 Asleep

phew - not just me then - I had been wondering whether to change to cereal first thing and miss the cup of milk - but know that it might cause a toddler meltdown, so hadn't been brave enough !!!

I think it is a nice start to the day, in the same way i need a cup of tea before I can think about breakfast

Reading the 'routine' back it seems so dull! But, it is a rough idea of times etc, obviously things move around slightly and it is the things in between the timings that make it interesting iyswim.

Meep, I do the milk thing too but forgot to write it in! However, I am trying to cut this back (just say half a cup) because recently he's not been v good at eating his cereal. I wouldnt cut it out altogether though, all hell would break loose!

meep, I still give DS (2.3) a cup of milk first. Think they still need it, plus the one at bed time too.

I'd still give DS milk too, if he'd take it but he won't drink it from a cup.

My DS still has his morning milk in a bottle.

It means I dont have to go downstairs to get him it from the fridge (can mix powder upstairs - lazy me LOL!) but more importantly, he can drink it lying down, and as a consequence - sometimes, if we're very very lucky he'll hand it back to me, say 'ta' and go back to sleep

If he asks for milk during the day, he gets it in a cup though, and his bedtime milk comes in a cup too.

Mine is 2.5

7am : Up
7.02am: Wee
7.05am: Milk
7.30am: Leaves most of breakfast
8am: Childminder/nursery/boring old me time.
8.05am to noon: Randomness, shouting and mucking about.
Noon: Lunch of sandwiches with me, same if at CM, massive meal if at nursery.
Nap time: Ha ha ha, you're joking aren't you, haven't done that since 18 months.
4.30pm: Tea/dinner/whatever you call it, doesn't matter cos she usually leaves half of it.
5pm: Back home to ours or continue causing havoc and wrecking house.
6pm: Have about three or four massive poos, but on the toilet now. Yay!!!!
7pm: Sing bedtime song with Andy and Cerys on CBeebies
7.30pm: Brush teeth.
7.45am: Bedtime stalling tactics, mostly involving needing a wee or poo.
8pm: Sleep
8.01pm: Mum and dad crack open the wine.

HTH.

DD is 2.5 and we're just moving from one routine to another.

Old routine:
8.30am: up
9am-1pm: nursery
3-6pm: nap (sometimes 4-7pm)
10pm: bed

She's just moved to a different nursery and is sleeping (or resting) there, so now it goes:

7.30: up
1-2: nap/rest
7:30 bed.

Having said that, at weekends she still goes back to her monster late-afternoon naps, we're not doing anything much.

sorry, if we're not doing much.

Dd is 2.1 and we've always tried to keep to a routine which has worked pretty well.

Wakes sometime between 6.30-7.30.

Milk on getting up - 200ml

Breakfast 1 hour after milk - porridge with 150ml milk

Lunch 12.30pm

Nap 1.30pm - min of 3 hours and would sleep longer if I didn't wake her up

Dinner 7.30pm

Milk 200ml 8.30pm

Bed 8.45/9pm

Dd is not yet potty trained and I'm very conscious that I need to move the last bottle of milk at night but worried that this might affect her sleep. Expecting dc2 in February and hopefully dd will start nursery next August so major changes ahead - just not sure how and when to implement them.

2.5yr old(and 4.9yr old)

7am-awake.milk.cuddle time
8am-breakfast.muesli and milk,fruit.glass of juice
8:20-washed and dressed
8:45-leave for school run
9am-drop 4yr old off.Then depending on the day we have ballet,music,playgroup,playdates,play at home.
12pm-lunch.Usually sandwiches,jacket potatoes,scrambled egg etc followed by fruit.glass of water.
12:45-2:45-nap(except on a mon where we have swimming at 12:30 so she goes 1:45-2:45)
2:45-up dressed and out the door to collect 4yr old
3:15-pick up 4yr old then snack of fruit bar and water.Depending on day we play at home,playground,playdate,ballet for the 4yr old,swimming for the 4yr old
5:30-teatime of something cooked.fruit/yogurt.glass of water.
6pm-t.v with glass of milk
6:45-upstairs for bath,pjs,teeth
7:15-stories
7:30-bedtime