• 

“ It’s bedtime!”. No sooner than you make this announcement if you meet with war-time resistance, you are not alone. For many families, bedtime is the time for tears, power struggles, and generally a lot of stress. Here are 5 handy smooth bedtime routine tips to help you and your family get the rest you so deserve.

Five Tips for a Smooth Bedtime Routine:

Predictability

Now, this has to be the number 1 tip when it comes to getting your child to sleep! Sticking to a bedtime routine may sound extremely hard, what with juggling work commitments, social life, and more. However, it is the one thing that can help you win those bedtime battles. For starters, ensure you set a reasonable bedtime and follow it every single day including on weekends. Not only will a consistent schedule limit the child’s pleas for more time, but importantly a reliable schedule also helps the body fall asleep. Setting a routine isn’t just about fixing a bedtime but also everything that leads up to it. Brushing one’s teeth, followed by a warm bath and some reading time, for example, may be ideal before lights out. The predictability of the routine offers comfort to the child beside the fact that repeated actions trigger the body’s sleep response.

Take the Time

With young children, it is imperative that you take the time to go through the routine that you have set. While the lineup of tasks may seem easy to us, it may not be the case for a toddler. Unless we set some time for this and be prepared for some practice, we are likely to match the child’s crying with our yelling. The answer to how to make bedtime easier for two-year-olds, lies in a little time spent showing the kids what really we want them to do. While it may be in the interest of time to quickly do the things for kids ourselves, no marks for guessing that kids are empowered by what they can do for themselves.

Anticipate Requirements

So you have tucked the children to bed and are reading the final pages of that rom-com before you go into zzzzz land yourself! Just then your child comes running asking for a glass of water or telling you that he is scared. If it’s been happening every other day, take some time to anticipate the child’s needs. So before tucking him into bed, you may want to remind him that there is water by the bedside and that you both can check that there are no monsters under the bed. Pro tip- If the child is making up a new request every other day, odds are that he or she is looking for your attention! Spending quality time with the child and offering her a positive dose of attention will ensure that the attention-seeking behavior is significantly reduced. In fact, spending some quality time just before going to bed can work very well in allaying the child’s fears, if any!

Attitude of Gratitude

An important aspect of the bedtime routine can also be talking about things that you are grateful for. It will be a good idea to ask the little one what are some of the positive things that happened during the day, as you share yours. Focusing on things that the child is happy about can help him settle into a fulfilled sleep with a smile on his face. Needless to mention that it will also lay the foundation of a lifetime of looking for the positives in every situation.

Limit the Usage of Technology

It’s imperative to ensure that you limit the usage of technology right before bed as it can make it that much harder to fall asleep. Not just for toddlers, but even for teens who have a biological tendency to stay up late, screen time just before bed can rob them of sleep.

To Sum Up

It’s about time that bedtime in your house becomes a time of peace and restfulness. With these tips, you sure will be able to achieve it. Here’s to restful nights and less chaotic mornings!