A family calendar can play an important role in helping your kids develop a sense of time and time management. All your children will benefit, especially those with ADHD. The calendar allows each family member to see the overall schedule for each other family member at a glance.
Postings should include sports commitments, doctor appointments, field trips, and, for younger children, play dates or private play time. Jodi Sleeper-Triplett in her book Empowering Youth with ADHD suggests listing laundry day, so everyone will know when the clothes will be cleaned. One way to involve all members of the family is to have a family meeting on Sunday perhaps at a meal time and invite each member to post their activities for the week.
The calendar will become too cluttered if too many items are posted, so post only the big assignments – projects due and examination dates. (Older children, of course, should manage their own separate list of daily homework, upcoming assignments and tests.)
Keeping a family calendar can eliminate surprises that disrupt the smooth flow of the household during the week. It will also build several key executive function skills: time management, planning and problem solving (when you have conflicting commitments).
Be sure to post the Family Calendar on a wall where all members of the family can see it, and perhaps establish a ritual of reviewing it with your child before bedtime, or each morning as your child heads out to school.
You’ll note our assumption that the calendar is physical, not electronic. We honestly think this is best and would recommend you use a big dry erase board. But it you insist on being 21st century, google can show you how to set up a family group to share an online calendar and other documents and subscriptions.
