The Ultimate Guide to Colour Coding Your Family Calendar 🎨

Managing a busy household — school runs, meal planning, playdates, dentist appointments, and maybe even a full-time job — is no small feat. A colour-coded family calendar can bring visual clarity, reduce mental load, and help every family member stay in the loop (even toddlers!). Here's how to make it work for you.

Two Simple Ways to Colour Code a Kid’s Weekly Planner 🌈 

There are two go-to methods. Both work beautifully — pick the one that clicks for your family.

1. Colour by Activity (A Colour for Each Type of Event)
2. Colour by Person (A Colour for Each Family Member)

Colour by Activity (A Colour for Each Type of Event)

This method helps kids see what is happening at a glance — perfect for visual learners. 

• Blue = School or Learning
• Yellow = Fun or Play
• Green = Family Time
• Red = Appointments
• Grey = House chores or screen time limits
• Orange = Grandparents

When using colour by activity and there’s more than one child, it’s crucial to show who the event is for. Use stickers or symbols for identifying each child and family member:

🧸 = Toddler

🦖 = Big kid

🌸 = Mum

⚽= Dad

🏡/ 💖 = Family 

🍪= Grandparents

🎨= Nanny

Colour by Person (A Colour for Each Family Member)

The colour-per-person method sounds logical at first: Mum is red, Dad is blue, the kids each get their own colour — and everyone’s events are colour-tagged accordingly. But here’s the truth… It stops being helpful — and starts being stressful.

The colour-per-person method feels logical at first, but it doesn’t scale well. Especially not for multi-child households or when events involve more than one person. It becomes a visual mess.Think about it:

• “Music class with Mum and the baby” — is that Mum’s colour? Baby’s?
• “Family dinner” — does every person’s colour go on that block?
• Add a grandparent or a nanny, and suddenly your calendar looks like a chaotic box of crayons.

Make the calendar from your child’s point of view: 

• The child doesn't have a colour.
• Everyone else does — Mum might be pink, Dad blue, Nanny yellow, Grandma orange.
• Each event shows who the child is with, using that person’s colour.

It’s visually calm, easy to understand, and builds emotional security. Your child sees their week unfold in colour — and knows exactly who they'll be with and when.

Got More Than One Kid?

Each methods work beautifully — but only if you’ve got one child using the calendar. If you’ve got two or more? Here’s the fix: Print one calendar per child and hang them side by side. Each child’s planner:

• Uses the same colour system
• Only shows their activities
• Feels personal, not cluttered

Now each child gets their own visual story of the week. And you, as the parent, get a calmer fridge — and a clearer head. 😂

Why Colour Coding Works for Families

Whether you’re using a paper wall calendar, magnetic fridge planner, or a digital app like Google Calendar, colour coding turns chaos into clarity. Here’s why:

• Instant recognition: Colours give your brain quick visual clues — you don’t need to read every entry.
• Reduces the mental load: Especially for mums managing the invisible workload (thank you Emma the comic), colour coding makes it easier to share planning responsibilities.
• Teaches kids routine: Even non-reading kids start recognising that "yellow means football day" or “purple means playgroup.”

Backed by Psychology and Planning Experts

• Colours aid memory: According to the University of British Columbia, colours like red and blue can improve attention to detail and productivity.
• Red = Alertness: That’s why many mums use red for critical appointments or their own time — it grabs attention!
• Kids process colour before text: Early education methods often use colour to help toddlers and preschoolers anticipate routines (Montessori classrooms are famous for this!).

 Weekly Planning Rituals (That Actually Work)

• Sunday Planning Night: Get the kids involved! Everyone places their stickers or magnets. You review the week ahead.
• Stagger Your Time: Use block colours to show “me time” — because if it’s not scheduled, it doesn’t happen.
• Reassess Monthly: Are you seeing too much red (appointments) and not enough green (family time)? Colour makes that imbalance obvious.

Tools Parents Use (and Recommend)

​​Most couples start off managing everything with just a digital calendar — sleek, synced, and always in their pocket. But the moment a child enters the picture, something shifts. Suddenly, a printed calendar appears on the fridge door — colourful, visible, and surprisingly essential — because little ones don’t check Google Calendar, but they do understand a sticker that means “playdate day.”

• Digital calendars (like Google Calendar, Cozi or Cakes and Days) are perfect for setting alerts, syncing across devices, and managing who’s where and when — especially when parents are working or coordinating with childcare.
• But printed calendars and planners — stuck to the fridge, hung in the hallway, or laid out on a kid’s desk — give everyone, especially young children, a visual, tangible sense of the week. It’s a shared touchpoint the whole household can see at a glance.

Bonus Tips

• Involve your child in the planning. Let them add stickers or pick their favourite colour for dance class.
• Use the same colours every week so they learn the pattern (blue = school, red = appointments).
• Include fun things too — don’t just plan obligations! Kids love looking forward to pancake breakfast or a sleepover.
• Check in weekly: Sunday afternoon is a great time to set up the coming week together.
• Print and stick: Print out a weekly view colour-coded calendar and let kids draw on it.
• Pair visuals with routine songs for younger toddlers (“Clean up! Clean up!” anyone?).

Final Thoughts

There’s no one-size-fits-all, but a colour-coded calendar can:

• Help reduce stress and forgetfulness
• Encourage independence in children
• Support co-parents or blended families in keeping aligned
• Visualise how you’re using time as a family — not just surviving the week, but making space for joy