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2-Year-Old Twin Life Is Crazy: A Schedule to Tame the Chaos

You know the expression time flies when you are having fun?  Well, I’m not denying that is true.  But time also flies when you are chasing around twin toddlers.  Seriously, a whole year has gone by again?  I can’t believe my sweet little babies are, well, not babies anymore.  (Ha, little do they know they will always be my babies.)  My little ladies are full on toddlers, no question.  Two years old.  Wow.

Two-year-olds are busy bees.  They need lots of room to explore, run around, and make messes.  They also still need consistent sleep and meal times.  How do you squeeze in all your two-year-olds need to do and keep your sanity?  Oh, and fit in the needs of a 4-year-old?  It is possible.  Every family works differently, but here is the schedule that works for us.  It tames the chaos, keeps us productive, and gets everyone’s needs met.

Sample Schedule for two-year-old twins. #twins #toddler #schedule #daily

2-Year-Old Twins Basic Schedule

Two-Year-Old Basic Sample Schedule #toddler #twin #schedule

7:30 am: Daily Wake Time

7:30 am: Breakfast

9:30-11:00 am: Independent playtime

11:00 am: Lunch

2-4:30 pm: Nap

5:15 pm: Dinner

7:00 pm: Bedtime

 

 

Alright, those are the basics.  Wake time, naps, bedtime, and meal times are the big must-dos every day.  Independent playtime is very important in our house, but it can be missed if need be.  If you are just trying to get a basic timing down in your day, this might be all the information you need.  I know when I was first building my family’s schedule I liked to look at other people’s schedules to see if what I had in mind was completely off base. Yes, every family is different.  But generally speaking, toddlers have similar needs.  This can be a helpful guideline to compare where your family is headed.

2-Year-Old Twins Detailed Schedule

The basics are helpful.  But I have found as kids get older and spend less time sleeping and eating I spend more time wondering What do I do with you? Now, I don’t mean to make that sound bad, it’s just that there are more hours in the day to fill with fun activities.  We function best with a schedule.  My kids know what is expected of them when, and they know all their needs will be met.  This helps them transition between activities during the day.  Having a schedule also helps me by eliminating some of the mental load of deciding What next? I know what comes next too.

Here is the current schedule for our 2-year-olds.  Every day is not exactly the same, and as the girls get older we can adjust timing as the day needs.  (A newborn can’t really wait 15 minutes to eat.  A 2-year-old can.  They might be unhappy, but it won’t ruin the day.)  The big goals, sleep times and meal times, are always met.

Every Day

7:30 am: Daily Wake Time.  It stays dark pretty late into the morning here, so they usually sleep until 7:30.  If they wake up earlier they play in their cribs and babble to each other.  If they get fussy I will give them a couple of board books to flip through.

7:30-8:30 am: Breakfast and get ready for the day.  We don’t have to leave super early in the morning, but getting three kiddos fed and dressed takes up most of this time.  Any time they aren’t eating or getting ready they can have free play.

Here is where we follow one of two schedules.

Monday/Friday

9:00 am: We leave for Ben’s speech appointment.  He works for about 25 minutes.  I bring books and the girls and I sit and play or read.  This is a great time for me to spend with just the girls, even if it is in a waiting room.  Sometimes I walk them around outside in the stroller.  The fresh air is great for us all.

10:30 am: Home and everyone goes to independent playtime.  Yep, all three kids.  Since this is now routine the girls go very willingly.  They gather up some toys and books, and off they go.

11:30 am: Lunch.  Lunch is a bit later on these days, but as the kids get older it is easier to handle.

12:30 pm: Yeah… these ladies still take forever to eat a lot of days.  Sometimes they get it done in a timely fashion, but sometimes they don’t.  Overall lunch is wrapped up and we are ready to do other things by now.  We run errands, play, and hit up fun things like parks or the library.

Tuesday/Wednesday/Thursday

8:30 am: Take Ben to preschool. On Tuesdays Ben’s school does chapel.  Families are invited to attend and we do.  The girls read books while we wait for it to start, then they enjoy the lesson and music with the preschoolers.  It is a great learning time for them too!

9:30 am: Home.  (It’s closer to 10 on chapel days.)  The ladies get a few minutes of free play while I get organized for this home period.

9:45 am: Independent Playtime. Tuesdays the girls both go closer to 10.  Wednesday and Thursday we squeeze in some one on one time.  One day Ali goes straight to playtime and Sammy gets 15 minutes with just me, then the next day we switch.  I know 15 minutes isn’t a ton of time, but it is so hard to get one on one time with the kids when they are little and need so much.  And this is doubly true when you have twins.  Just this little bit of time really means a lot to me and the girls.

11:00am: Lunch.  This needs to be on time because, as I mentioned, these ladies like to linger over meals.  We can’t be late to pick up Ben, so we need to start on time.  If we have time after lunch we play.  I’m trying to set up more directed activities during this time, but sometimes it is just free play sister time.

12:30 pm: Leave to pick up Ben.

Every Day

1:30 pm: Home from any activities.  The kids do best with some downtime before nap.  Quiet play and family time.

2:00-4:30 pm: Nap time.  Yes, all three kids nap during this time. Ali and Sammy generally go straight to sleep and sleep the whole time.  If they wake up early they still stay in their beds until wake time.  IF they get overly fussy they get books, but they don’t leave the cribs.

4:30 pm: Free play.  This is also screen time for the kids.  (I know, they just turned two they shouldn’t have had screen time.  But I’m human, it happens.  I aim for educational shows if that helps any.)

5:15 pm: Dinner time.  These girls love to eat and are always excited for dinner.

6:00 pm: Family time.  Ali and Sammy still get to leave the table as soon as they are done.  Their manners are improving, but they don’t understand the need to ask to be excused yet, so we don’t make them do it.  Once everyone is done with dinner we all play and watch shows.  Daddy is home during this time so it is just general family fun.

7:00 pm: Bedtime.  The girls’ bedtime routine is still very basic.  We do jammies, diaper change, and teeth brushing right before 7.  Once we get into their rooms we do prayers and songs, then lights off!  As they get older they try to stall a tiny bit, but consistency is king and they are quiet within a few minutes.

Weekends

Our weekends run in a very similar fashion.  My current favorite thing with the girls getting older is that they are happy to stay in their beds in the morning, meaning we can sometimes sleep in until 8.  It isn’t super late, but as a parent, that feels amazing.

The girls still get independent playtime on the weekends (unless there is a major event), but they don’t get the special one on one time.  Naps and bedtime hold true regardless of what is going on.

Two-Year-Old twin life is crazy busy. Here is a schedule to tame the chaos. #toddler #twin #sample #schedule #sleep

The day in the life of a brand new 2-year-old!  Our days are loud, busy, and often messy.  But they are fun.  My girls get their eating and sleeping needs met.  We are fitting in valuable one on one time.  And I still have built-in periods of time to do all the other things moms do when they aren’t momming.  It works for our family.

 

Do you have any schedule questions I can help you out with?  Let me know!

 

Here are some more posts to help you out!

Sample Twin Schedules

How To Get Out Alone with Twins

Transitions: Turning the Morning Nap into Independent PLaytime

Want to know what life with two-year-old twins is like? Looking for sample schedules to help organize your day with twin? Here is a day in the life of toddler twins. Busy, but organized and fun! #twins #schedules #babywise #toddlertwins #2yearold #sampleschedule #reallife #momhacks Team-Cartwright.com

 

 

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