Routine Magnets vs Printable Routine Charts: Which is Right for your Family?

If you've searched for routine charts online, you'll know that there's no shortage of options. Downloadable printables, laminated checklists, pictures that can be stuck to the fridge and, of course, magnets.

Knowing which is right for your family can be a chore in itself. Let's make it simple.

To answer this question, let's tackle a few others first.

1. How often does your routine change?

If your child follows a fairly consistent routine every day, a printable chart could work well. But if your days change depending on school, sport, appointments or whose turn it is to feed the dog, magnets can make it much easier to rearrange tasks as needed.

Move them. Swap them. Add something in. Take something out. Without needing to reprint the whole chart.

 

2. How interactive do you want it to be?

Some children love something they can physically touch, move or mark as complete. Magnets can make the routine more hands-on, allowing children to reorder tasks, choose what comes next or move a finished task over to the done pile.

That's not to say that printable charts can't be interactive, especially if they are laminated and used with a whiteboard marker, but they tend to be more fixed.

 

3. How much wear and tear will it get?

Printables are inexpensive and easy to replace, but paper and little hands aren’t always the best combination. If your child will be regularly touching, moving or rearranging their routine, a more durable option may be worth considering.

Our MagMates are waterproof, foam-backed magnets, so they can be picked up and moved again and again without needing to reprint, laminate or replace the whole system.

 

4. Where will the routine live?

Think about where your child naturally spends time during the routine. A printable might work perfectly on a door or bedroom wall. Magnets need a magnetic surface which could be your fridge, a magnetic whiteboard or a dedicated magnetic routine board.

If you don’t have a handy magnetic surface but still want to use a magnetic routine board, our Unifelt boards are designed to create a designated space, on a clean, flat surface such as a door, wall or fridge.

 

5. What's your budget?

Printable charts will usually win on upfront costs. You can download, print and start using one almost immediately. If you're creative, you can even make your own.

Magnets, on the other hand, generally cost more initially but they can be reused, rearranged and adapted as your child's routine changes.

For some families, that makes them a better long-term option.
Especially if you have multiple children.

 

In the end, you don’t even have to choose just one. You can use them together. Use magnets for the everyday jobs that come up again and again like getting dressed, brushing teeth, packing the school bag or feeding the dog, and use a printed chart for things that are temporary such as school holidays, toilet training, short term goals, special events or countdowns.

 

So which one wins? Well, neither.

Magnets can be durable, flexible and interactive. Printables can be affordable, easy to customise and perfect for short-term routines.

 

The best option is the one that makes sense for your child, your home and your everyday life. The fanciest routine chart in the world won't help if nobody actually uses it. Choose something that your child can understand and which makes it easy for you and them to use consistently.

If a combination of magnets, printables and a scribbled note on the fridge works for your family, then that's the option that wins.