How to Maintain Schedules for Multiple Family Members

Families today are faced with a multitude of events, activities, clubs, sports, dance classes and practices. With both parents likely to be working, it takes some very careful planning to make sure everyone gets to his or her practice, game, class or club on time while allowing family life to continue.

Things You'll Need

• Multiple activities for family members
• Written schedules for each family member
• Large calendar
• White erase calendar
• Colored pens or markers

Instructions

1. Maintain your family's schedules with a white erase calendar or a large calendar in which you can write in individual family member's names. Make sure the blocks for each day are large enough to accommodate everyone's daily plans.

2. Before you start to write down each family member's upcoming schedule, write in family commitments, such as your parents' 50th wedding anniversary party, an upcoming trip, a holiday event or a pending business trip. Use one color pen or marker to do this.Collect each child's upcoming schedule for the week or month.

3. Communicate your expectations to your older children that they are responsible for getting schedules of upcoming activities for their clubs, teams, groups or sports, then getting those schedules to you. If you have a child who is forgetful, you can get her to be with you as you pick up the schedule and incorporate it with the schedules of her siblings. Don't do this all the time and let her become comfortable with allowing you to pick up her schedule every week. Slowly make her take that responsibility for herself; if she forgets, she suffers the consequence of not having her activities included in the family calendar.

4. Using another marker color or pen, write down everything planned for each child next to their name under the correct date. Consider using a different colored marker or pen for each family member.

5. Spot scheduling conflicts when you write everything down on the white erase calendar or the large wall calendar in this way. When you include family events, vacations or business trips, you will be able to determine when you need to make changes to your plans or ask another family member to help out.

6. As you are writing different activities onto the calendar, make sure you put everything into the correct day. You want to be able to keep some "quiet space" for family down time. In case of a schedule change, the "quiet space" can now be filled in with the new schedule information.

7. Plan a short family meeting every week so you can talk about the upcoming week. Alert your family to scheduling conflicts. As you do so, make sure to let others know of upcoming conflicts--coaches, teachers, instructors, other family members and family friends. Don't be afraid to be honest and tell others that your family's commitments have to come first. You and your children decided to get involved in the activities you are now participating in; they are important to you, so honor the commitments you've made and ask that the family gathering for your sibling's birthday be postponed until you can be there.

8. Have your older children arrange alternative transportation in the case of a time conflict. Suggest the idea of your oldest children carpooling with another team member's parents. If a team member's family has a time conflict, offer to transport that team member to practice or a game.

Tips & Warnings

• If you get a revised schedule for one of your children, add the new events and changes immediately to the family's general calendar.

• If you use different colored pens or markers for each child, you will be able to keep track of each child's schedule more easily.