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Do
you struggle to get your child to bed at night? We sure did with our
daughter. She would refuse to go to sleep in her bed and wanted to
hang out with us until we were ready for bed and of course then she
would want to sleep in Mama’s and Daddy’s bed. That
all changed when we finally sat down and established a bedtime
routine. It helped our daughter establish healthy sleeping habits and
got us back into ours. On top of it, we now have a little time to
ourselves at night. Maybe
you have heard on TV or read in a parenting magazine that your child
needs a bedtime routine. Or you are just plain tired of having to run
to her room 20 times before she finally dozes off. For whatever reason
you decided it’s time to start setting up a bedtime routine. Where
do you go from here? Obviously you are not going to change your
child’s habits from one day to the next. Consistency is going to be
key, which is why we started by drawing up a basic little plan. Take
out a pen and a piece of paper and jot down the following:
From
this list, come up with an action plan. Figure out when you need to
put your child to bed to make sure she gets enough sleep. This will be
your final goal. What time does she go to bed now? Plan on moving her
bedtime back about 30 minutes every few days to give her some time to
adjust in between. Pick
a few of her favorite calm activities and spend about 30 to 40 minutes
on those while also getting her in her pj’s, teeth brushed and off
to bed. Expect
some initial resistance to the new routine. Kids can be pretty
creative when it comes to excuses why they can’t possibly go to
sleep just yet. My little sister once insisted that her doll just had
to blow her nose. Try to anticipate those excuses and last minute
requests and make them part of the bedtime routine. If you know your
child is going to ask for a sip of water, keep a glass on her night
table. Make other requests part of your bedtime routine. If she
usually asks to say goodnight to the family pet, have her do that
before you put her in her PJ’s and tuck her in. Another
good tip is to give her choices in the routine. It is usually best to
limit those choices to 2 or 3. Ask her if she would like to take a
bath or a shower, if she wants Mom or Dad to tuck her in, if she wants
you to read “Goodnight Moon” or “The hungry little
caterpillar”. Let her pick the red or yellow pj’s. Only give her
options that you can live with. That way you both win. She feels like
she is having some control over her life and you get her to do what
needs done.
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