A Day in Life with 5 Year Old Twins

Last updated on March 31st, 2024 at 11:47 am

Life with twins is fascinating to those who do not have them and often terrifying to those who are expecting them. Although no one’s life looks the same, one of the most asked questions here at Twiniversity is, “What does a day in the Life with Twins look like?” Check out what a typical day looks like for Twin Mama, Maya, and her 5 year old twins.

Every year is so different in the life of a child. The challenges that you conquered last year will not be the same challenges today. Age five is exciting because, for many kids, it’s the beginning of school. Kids are learning to manage their emotions and building relationships with other kids. As parents of a 5 year old, you might be thinking you’re starting to get the hang of this whole parenting thing, but add in a second child the same age, and you might start second-guessing yourself! It’s different for every family, but like everything else with twins, some challenges seem doubled.

So, what does a day with 5 year old twins actually look like?

A Day in the Life with 5 year old twins

6:00 am

Mom and dad are getting themselves up and trying to prep for the day before the twins are up. This is the time when you get in your shower and make sure the kid’s backpacks are ready to be sent back to school.

7:00 am

Time to get the twins up! Kindergarten is a scary and exciting time, so your kiddos might wake up happy or anxious, but it won’t be too tough to get them up. Both kids go to the bathroom and brush their teeth. They are getting pretty independent, but you still have to keep an eye on these tasks so that they don’t decide to do any impromptu science experiments in your bathroom (like toilet paper animal sculptures)!

From here, it is time to get dressed. Again, they are pretty independent but still might need your help if their sleeve is inside out or with the snap on their jeans, so you need to be close by. One twin will be a more motivated and/or independent dresser, so you will find yourself daily waiting on the other.

7:20am

Time for breakfast. Although 5 year old twins are completely capable of feeding themselves, they are easily distracted. Playing at the table is still really fun, and your twins may find themselves off task and helping their twin get off task, too. They’ll need reminders to finish their food if you are going to get to school on time.

7:50 am

It’s time to get shoes and coats on! We need to make sure we have enough time for this daily because this is a task where it is easy to get unfocused as we think about the day ahead, the things we wish we were doing right now, and what our twin is doing! Somehow, one twin will end up without a hat, and somehow, the other will only have one shoe! Despite the fact that you gave them one singular, specific task to focus on, it won’t get done right. Also, putting on shoes is hard, and doing the zipper on their jacket is a relatively new task. Lots of opportunities to lose focus. Even though you will be motivated to get out of the door, make sure you leave enough time so that your twins have the opportunity to struggle through this process.

8:00 am

You are out the door! Do a mental check. Do you have their backpacks? Their lunches? Assignments? Is weather wear needed? Many kids are still taking the bus to school, which is an opportunity to get a glimpse of your twin’s social skills at the bus stop. But more and more families post-pandemic are dropping kids off at school, which means waiting in the parent drop-off line. You need to drop off your little ones quickly so you can keep the drop-off line moving and not upset the other parents.

8:00 am-3:00 pm

Your kids are in school, so it is break time from parenting, right? Of course not! Whether you are working or staying at home, you will have goals for your day, but they will be interspersed with things that are still directly related to the care and development of your twins.

Schools send so many emails these days, so you will be checking and possibly responding to emails about the twins. You will be ordering the new shoes you just realized they urgently need. You will be scheduling their next well-child appointment and making sure to pay the bill from their last appointment.

If you are at home, you’ll be doing loads of laundry and cleaning up crayon drawings on the wall. If you are at work, you’ll be signing up for swim lessons and making a grocery list for dinner. And you will do all this while doing all the other things you need to do for work, home, and wellness.

Think about working from home with your twinnies? Check out Ideas for Working from Home with Twins.

3:00 pm

Now, you are either waiting in the parent pickup line, or your kids are off to after-school care. If your kids are on their way to after-school care, the end of the school day doesn’t escape you, and you note this transition time. You keep your phone a little closer to be able to pick up at a moment’s notice if there is an issue.

If you are bringing your kids home, you will spend a half hour in the parent pickup line. Then, the real joy of the day starts because you get to have them tell you about their day. They will tell you about all the fun things about today and they might seem a bit defeated about learning to read or trying to count. Sitting down so much of the day is a newer skill and they might tell you that was tough. You’ll likely have a twin who is a bit wired from their sedentary days and one who is a bit worn out from all the thinking. You will experience all the big and amazing emotions that a 5 year old experiences at this age throughout the day.

This is the greatest time of the day because you get to encourage skills, reinforce new learning, and boost their self-esteem. This is the time of day when they will have a lot to say, and you can marvel at the development of their language skills as they talk to you, to each other, and to you about each other. After you thoroughly chat through their day, it’s time for snack and play!

5:00 pm

All parents are now thinking about and prepping for dinner. If your children are in after-school care, you’re now picking them up. And you are so grateful you don’t have to spend a half hour in the parent pickup line! This is the time you will do the same thing the parents who picked up kids directly from school did, you ask them about their day. Listen to them and share in their triumphs and challenges. After this conversation, the transition into dinnertime is quick, and playtime is short.

6:00 pm

At this point, many kids are in an activity of some sort at least one day a week. On activity days, you are whisking your twins off to soccer, gymnastics, cooking class, or piano lessons. At this age, it is okay to put your twins in the same activity for ease, but as they become their own people with their own personalities, it might be time to put them in their own individual activities as well. On non-activity nights, it is time for chores. Age appropriate chores for 5 years old twins include helping with dishes, helping with laundry, wiping down counters or tables and putting away their own toys. Twins can work on tasks together or separately, whatever works best for your family. But all cleaning tasks take longer when the twins are doing it. Have patience, they’re learning.

7:00 pm

It is time to start the wind-down process. A quick shower to get them clean, or if your twins aren’t showering yet, they can have a quick bath, and then we move into the wind-down routine. This looks different in every home. Too often in many families (including mine), this time involves some screen time. But hopefully, it also involves some reading time.

8:00 pm

Your twins are in bed, and whether they are asleep or not, they are now in their rooms, and it is the end of their night, but not the end of yours. Now that the twins are down, it is time to sign permission slips, move the laundry, respond to emails from their teachers, and prepare their outfits for tomorrow. Hopefully, it is a normal week and not one of the weeks with many spirit days, or you might spend a half hour trying to find their only orange shirt. After all that, you might just get a moment to do something nice for yourself.

10:30 pm

You are hopefully taking yourself to bed. Getting enough sleep is essential for your own health and for being the best parent you can be tomorrow. If you struggle with getting to bed, falling asleep, or staying asleep, there are tons of resources at the tips of our fingers these days to help with this.

Need some ideas on how to get more “me” time? Here are 5 Tips for Creating More “Me Time”.

11:00 pm

Hopefully, you are asleep, so you will be well-rested to do this all again tomorrow!

While every family will do things a bit differently, what we have in common with 5 year old twins is a time of great growth, wonder, and learning. Enjoy this time because it will be over before you know it!

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