Establishing a bedtime routine early on is essential to raising healthy kids. Around two years old, the children should have already spent most of their time sleeping, as it affects their mental and physical development, according to the Sleep Foundation.
But as many parents can attest, this is an area of struggle, especially when it's not just the kids who need the shuteye. Parents have to get a full night's sleep to function well, too.
Below are some tips on how to have an effective bedtime routine with the kids:
1) Be consistent about the time, after all, it is a "routine." To check for what the best bedtimes are for children of different ages, check this guide from Baby Sleep Site. Take note that some children in the ages of three to five no longer have afternoon naps, so it would be good to consider this when establishing their bedtimes.
2) As much as you have to be consistent with the time, you must also be consistent with the activities that go with the bedtime routine. Are the kids allowed to do one last activity before heading to bed, like reading stories or singing lullabies? Do they need to bathe? Incorporate this daily into the plan as well, according to Baby Center.
3) Prepare the kids by giving them a reminder or letting them wind down from whatever they're doing. For fun, you can establish a countdown game, so that the concept will be better retained into their system. When it's 10 minutes to 8 pm, they know that bedtime routines are about to start and they might even look forward to it because of the countdown.
4) For difficult children, be gentle and calm giving reminders. Bedtime battles with verbal or physical threats will only make things worse and parents are always at the losing end with this tactic, according to Terrific Parenting. Remain calm and in control by practicing positive reinforcement, so that the routine is peaceful and blissful.
5) Be sure to do this as a family, with the dad also participating in the routines. If you have more than one child, stagger some of the activities with each of the kids, so that everyone gets their fair share of reading time and lullabies. It would be good to have a schedule for this too, so that the child can look forward to his or her day for bedtime stories. Or better yet, have a family bedtime reading story as you're winding down with the kids. It would make for lasting memories when they are older.
