Establishing Healthy Bedtime Routines June 22
Bedtime. Does the very word strike fear into your heart? Don’t worry; you aren’t alone. Many parents dread the nightly bedtime ritual. This is especially true for parents of preschoolers who are worried about leaving their children alone in the night but getting a little bit desperate for some rest of their own. Establishing healthy bedtime routines can help make that part of the night go more smoothly. In fact, healthy bedtime routines can even make getting ready for bed a fun family activity. Believe it or not, bedtime doesn’t have to be bad time.
| The first thing that you should know about establishing bedtime routines for your family is that there is no “right” way to do this. What you need to do is figure out what is going to work best for your family, given your particular schedule and needs and then to work out a routine that makes sense around that. Since all families eat dinner at different times, have different homework and activities needs for older children and go to bed at different times, the specifics of what your family will do for their bedtime routines will depend on those factors. |
The phrase to keep in mind when establishing your bedtime routines is “wind down”. The idea is that you are going to spend the several hours before bedtime winding down with your children, creating a relaxed atmosphere that is inviting to sleep. Additionally, you will be creating habits that are done in the same order every night (or at least regularly) so that your child will get adjusted to doing certain activities and following them with sleep. This combination of winding down and creating a predictable pattern that ends in sleep leads to healthy bedtime routines that make the night easy for everyone. In general, bedtime routines begin with the time period just after dinner. It is at this point in the night that you will want to start thinking about winding down. Some families have a short period of high-energy activity after dinner (outside play, for example) whereas others go straight into wind down time. Whether or not you engage in that high-energy activity to get your kids energy out, this period is followed by quiet activities such as watching TV or videos, coloring, or reading together. This is also the time during which you will do your nightly family activities that all lead up to bedtime. Chores may happen at this time. Bath time, brushing teeth and getting into pajamas will all follow. Families with young children usually then have a routine which involves spending time in the child’s room. Taking the child to bed and reading a story there, sharing thoughts about the day or otherwise quietly engaging in activity in the room together will be the final thing that your family does together as part of the nightly routine. |
| Some parents remain in the room with their children until they fall asleep. Others have lights out at a certain time and then the parents proceed to their own nighttime activities. What works for your family may depend on the age and needs of your child, your parenting techniques and your own nighttime activities. Just remember that you’re establishing a routine that will let your children wind down and know that bedtime is approaching. This should prevent a lot of the problems which make bedtime “bad time” for some families. |
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