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The Importance of a Daily Schedule for Kids with ADHD: Sample Routines and More

Children with ADHD need routine. Reliable schedules for mornings, after school, and bedtime make a tremendous difference in setting expectations, building good habits, and improving ADD-related behavior. Use these recommended templates to wrangle your family's time.

10 Comments: The Importance of a Daily Schedule for Kids with ADHD: Sample Routines and More

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  1. The idea is great, but not realistic. I have to be out of the house by 6:30am with my son. Then, he’s home alone until either my husband or I get home from work. Yes, he does his homework better when one of us is there, but guess what, in this day in age, most parents both work full time and can’t be with their children 24/7.

  2. I recently married my Husband, who struggles with ADD, Bipolar, and Depression.
    It has been a ROLLERCOASTER for us!
    The new skills we have learned from our Doc of Osteopathy [NOT Allopathy], our ‘Wellness Team’ and our community Church and Counselors has saved our marriage!

    TODAY: My (single parent) Daughter has FINALLY agreed to ask for help from others for her 9 & 12 y.o. boys.
    One has ADHD, ODD, Depression, and horrible Anxiety;
    the older has Depression, some signs of ODD, and the same debilitating anxiety plaguing our family for at least 5 generations!

    When I hear the saying, “It takes a village…” I really believe it!
    We used to be ‘locked into” our lives and hiding our ‘shame’ of our conditions for generations.
    My Daughter,
    Older Son (3 Daughters {1 with ADHD}),
    and I are determined to ‘break the cycle’ of shame, fear, anxiety, and anger due to our conditions!

    We must FORCE ourselves, being Brave, and reach out to [well-researched] help that fits our lives, personal needs, and beliefs.
    God has sent some very amazing people in our paths these last 10 years to help!
    Management is hard, but possible!
    My neighbor has 3 children, one who has recently been diagnosed with a mystery kidney condition, and STILL leans on (healthy) family members, community, and “adopted” family to help keep her kids in school, healthy, pets, owning their own home, AND their extracurricular activities! SHE has BiPolar AND Depression!
    People like her, that I have met moving around the US, are an awesome inspiration to me.
    I pray God sends the right people to you as well.

  3. I suffer as well as my child, so, I just changed the focus of this, to BOTH of us using this as a guide. I think if we ask our kids to help is stick to this schedule, then, we become a team.
    My daughter is always willing to help when I express to her that I’m especially unfocused.
    She understands how I feel and In turn, I am teaching her to learn to ask if she needs help, OR if she can help me, which used to never happen.

  5. I don’t see play time; soccer or any sport. Working parents who work from 9-5 or otherwise cannot adjust to such routine. The routine would start at 6pm, if there is no sport practice. When one has three children, their needs are different and they need different accommodations. The routine sounds great, yet not feasible. We do have routines in place, but Randomly something comes up that dismantles the routine …. expectations vs reality

  6. I didn’t find this article helpful at all, to be honest. My son is 10 now, and every morning before brass medicated is still a fight. You mention up front that many parents are frustrated with the whole “routine” advice because it doesn’t work, but then go on to suggest routines. In my case, the routines aren’t the problem. We have used the same routines all his life, adjusting for age appropriateness. But still, every morning, homework time and bed time comes with meltdowns, and he is unable to complete any tasks on his own. We have both rewards and consequences in place, but neither work. He wants to do well, but he can’t.

  7. While I totally agree with the routines, your example schedules should include something that is typical with two working parents. Your schedule here assumes that someone is at home. Not cool. The vast majority of parents are both working and this continues the fiction that somehow we might be shortchanging our kids. We aren’t. Please join the 21st century in your recommendations.

    1. Maybe it IS shortchanging a child with ADHD because they need the “extra” everything an at-home parent provides. Just as any special needs child.

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