In my latest video at A Fostered Life on YouTube, I shared one simple but life-changing tip for helping new children in your home more quickly settle in and get to know your family’s schedules and routines more easily: visual schedules and charts!

Children with trauma backgrounds and/or in-utero drug and alcohol exposure often struggle with executive function, which is basically the skills we need to get things done. This can mean that what you might consider a simple instruction for a ten-year-old, for example, “take a shower” or “clean your bedroom,” can feel like an insurmountable task to the child. They don’t know where to begin, they feel overwhelmed, etc. This can leave them feeling frustrated, and when they don’t do what you’ve asked them to do, you get frustrated as well.

It can lead to a vicious cycle of frustration.

One way to address that is to create visual charts to help them go step by step.

In this video, I talked especially about creating a nighttime routine and accompanying visual helpers. Be sure to check it out!

And if you’re not already following A Fostered Life on Facebook, please do! There, I’m sharing examples of real-life visual charts and schedules other foster and adoptive parents have shared with me.

Pinterest is also a great place to find examples and inspiration for visual charts.

Hope you find this helpful!