I have two teenagers and a 9-year-old. The teenagers are basically in charge of their personal hygiene: showering, deodorant, teeth, etc. The 9-year-old is still learning and needs reminders, but she also really likes to follow a routine.
To help the 9-year-old, I created a little visual in Gemini and taped it to the mirror in her bathroom. Back when my older kids were little, the only option for someone like me was to either a) make a text-only thing in a Google Doc or b) see if I could find a free download that contained visual elements, but might not be exactly what I wanted.
I remember scouring sketchy websites, looking for fillable PDFs or anything I could download that might let me create printouts for my kids. I had mood charts, chore lists, and weekend activities.
Behold: one of the Google Docs I used with my older kids when they were much younger. This was placed inside a picture frame, and each kid had their own side, using a dry-erase marker to check off items when completed.
With Gemini, I got a visual my 9-year-old can follow, tailored to her routine.
The image above is a variation. On her actual visual, I included the brands she uses for things like sunscreen and her vitamins. That way, the packaging in the image looks exactly like what she finds in her bathroom drawer.
From a parenting perspective, I want her to get in the habit of washing her face every morning. When my older two kids started getting teenage breakouts, it was a struggle to get them to consistently take care of their skin (still is). I figured that if I start earlier with the 9-year-old, she’ll already have the habit by the time she hits the point when she has to start managing breakouts.
I took her visual and had it printed as a photo at Walgreens. Then I covered it with packaging tape (at-home “lamination”) before taping it to her bathroom mirror.
We’ll see how well she follows it in the upcoming weeks…
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