If you’re searching the internet for information like “Should I have four kids?” or “What’s it like with 4 kids?”, you may realize that it’s slim pickings. I have finally realized why: when you have four kids you have no time to dwell on what it’s like to have four kids!
I’m not saying it’s not the most wonderful thing. To the contrary, I think it’s fabulous! But when you have kids of all different ages, there is always something or someone that needs to be attended to!
Having four kids is basically the same as having three kids in terms of the mess and chaos that ensues. Except…by the fourth, you have to relax. Like, you really, really have to.
So today, I have a routine with four kids at home written out for you! I made an effort to try to track our days for a bit because I think it would have been great to have this resource ahead of time!
Even though things always change, there is a rhythm to our days. Hopefully this will inspire you, help relax you, encourage you that it is doable, even with no outside help.
If you’re looking for printables for your routine with kids, check out this Morning Routine and Evening Routine.
Routine with 4 Kids
This routine is from when our baby was around 10 months old. Keep in mind that the easiest way I have found to maintain everyone frustration free, is by keeping baby on a good schedule.
If the baby is happy and not overtired, he requires much less work, leaving more time for the older kids. So yes, we do sometimes adjust this for special activities, but overall during weekdays, it is easier to stick with the general plan.
The absolute easiest resource, in my experience, is sticking to “awake times”. Download this chart, take a quick peak when baby wakes up, and then you will have a ballpark idea of when to get them back to bed without having to be so immersed to watch for sleepy cues. (That said, it is also easier to spot those sleepy cues by the time you’re on your fourth child…)
One more caveat I have to make: this year due to the pandemic, we are homeschooling. Read all about Unschooling Here! This means that our mornings are not at all rushed as I do not have the extra pressure of packing lunches and getting to school on time. The challenges with everyone home are obviously different.
Morning Schedule with 4 Kids
6:00 a.m. – Baby is awake. We feed and then get up and move to the playroom. Mom or dad make coffee…
7:00 a.m.- The big kids are awake and join us. Our older boys like to read, our younger daughter like to play or cuddle.
8:00 a.m.- Baby nurses and goes down for his morning nap. Dad goes into the office to begin working. Mom makes breakfast for the family. One of the big kids empties the dishwasher. We have a big breakfast usually: eggs, chicken, avocado.
Depending on the day, after breakfast we usually do either homeschool “work” or the big kids go out to play while Mom hops on the computer.
The only formal work we are keeping up with this year is Math and Language. So we have workbooks for those. Other independent learning projects are more fluid throughout the day and week. Many days it feels like we did “nothing” but looking back we have actually completed quite a bit!
Our four year old likes doing workbooks as well. But will otherwise often work on an art project at this time.
10:00 a.m.- Baby is awake. He has his first solids meal (usually liver puree). Then he crawls all over the place and looks for ways to get into trouble….kidding not kidding. 😉 We finish homeschool workbooks. Mom preps lunch, so that it is ready early in case someone is hungry before she gets back.
11:00 a.m.- Mom takes baby on a morning walk. Often times one of the big kids will join in for some quality time. The others stay home and play or read. They are pretty good at being independent when they know dad is busy.
Afternoon with Four Kids
12:30/1:00 p.m. – Baby goes down for his afternoon nap. Mom has lunch and tries to do some work, or run out for an errand.
2:30 p.m. – Baby is up and ready to move! We play in the backyard, on the swing or grass. Big kids often play in the front yard with neighbors.
3:00/4:00 p.m.- Depending on what’s for dinner, Mom gets that started, and runs dishwasher. Also, laundry! Baby like to play music!
5:30 p.m.- Dinner time. Dad joins us. The older boys help empty the dishwasher and set the table. We have a big family meal: soup, protein, vegetable. (See more on our diet- GAPS here).
6:00 p.m. – Bath for the baby, while the big kids finish up dinner. He like to crawl around our bed trying to escape the diapers and pajama and thinks this is hilarious.
6:30 p.m.- Bedtime for the baby; clean up the kitchen from the day’s cooking. Yard work or other random tasks, followed by bath times for the three big kids. Help the 4 year old with getting ready for bed.
8:00 p.m.- Three big ones need to be in their bedrooms. The 8 and 9 year old can read for another hour or so. Parents head to the couch!
10:00 p.m. – Parents to bed. Baby has a dream feed and usually comes to our bed. His next wake up will be sometime in the early morning: nurses and goes back to bed until he’s up for the day.
Schedule with 4 Kids
Hopefully looking at this hour by hour schedule with 4 kids is useful to you! Certainly, having everyone at home, simplified many things for us this year!
We have, since this schedule was first written, added some after school activities for the older kids that do have us out of the house more often. Nevertheless, not having to pack lunches, do homework, or be somewhere during the morning rush, has made our days so much more simple!
Meals with Four Kids
You will notice that we have two big meals, breakfast and dinner, but lunch and snacks throughout the day are independent. We have food available, but the big kids fend for themselves in terms of serving and cleaning up.
Chores with Four Kids
Taking all four kids on errands is very time consuming so we try to avoid that. Just with all the car seats, getting in and out seems to take forever. Generally we take just one or two kids and the rest stay home with the other parent.
We do try to focus on getting chores done during the week so that the weekends are more free for longer days out and exploration. There is an obscene amount of laundry always, and yes we are still cloth diapering. But the older kids help with folding and putting away their own clothes.
All in all, the main change that has come with adding a fourth child, is being ready to let things slide. Not everything that needs to get done will get done every day. Truthfully, I never lost baby or kid items before the fourth came along, and socks were rarely without a pair. Now socks are a big issue and I routinely just have to let things go and not worry about it. [Tip: If I had to go back, I would buy each size sock in only one color, and change colors between sizes].
Any questions on what it’s like to have four kids? Other things you would like to know about our daily routine with four?
P.S. If you would like access to all my printable schedules. Sign up for access to the free library. (As of April 2021 I am not currently sending out a newsletter, so it’s a one time deal. )
