RoutinedMidday routine
Around midday energy often runs out, for children and adults alike. The visual support below gathers lunch, something to drink and a short rest into one routine, so the afternoon does not start on an empty tank.
♀Midday
A girl sits with a blanket over her legs, eating a sandwich and holding a water bottle, with a clock and a sun nearby.
♀Lunch break
A woman eats from a bowl next to a table with a lunchbox and an apple, with a clock and a folded blanket nearby.
♀Midday meal
A girl with curly hair eats a sandwich and holds an apple next to a ringing clock.
♀Midday routine
A woman holds up a clock and a checklist, with a sun below her.
About this visual support
Mornings often run on momentum. Then, somewhere around lunch, comes the dip: hunger arrives suddenly, patience gets short and small setbacks feel huge. On holidays, weekends and days at home there is no fixed school lunchtime either, so it is easy for the meal to slip until someone is already too hungry to eat calmly.
The visual support gives the middle of the day a structure of its own: food first, then water and finally a quiet moment with a blanket, a book or an audiobook. It is not a nap for everyone, just a pause that lets the body catch up. A practical tip is to let a clock on the card show roughly when the routine starts, and to keep the rest short, ten to fifteen minutes goes a long way. Children who struggle to wind down can hold something, such as a cushion or modelling clay.
In the Routined app you can build your own midday routine for days off, with lunch, water and rest as steps and a timer for the pause. You can try the app for 14 days at no cost.
Use this image in a schedule
Build your own visual schedule with this image and download it as a print-ready PDF. Completely free.
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Take the visual supports with you
In Routined you build schedules from these pictures, add timers and voice instructions, and your child follows the day on their own.
* 14-day free trial, then $2.39 a month or $20.99 a year (US pricing). Cancel anytime.