Just as sleeping routines are important for adults they are equally as important for your children. Our bodies respond to repetitive signals, with a nighttime routine our brains recognize it is time to sleep and will start telling our bodies it is time to relax and begin getting ready for sleep.

The first step is to pick a time for your child to go to sleep. Once you have decided the time you can show your child what that time looks like on a clock in their room. Then decide what the routine is going to be for your child to get ready to sleep every night. How many books will you read together? Will there be music? Can you turn on a soft table light to read by and not a bright overhead light?

Once you have made the decisions for the rules it is important to discuss them with your child. Let them know that once p.j.’s go on then you are beginning to wind down for the night, stick with it, your consistency sets the expectations for your child. If you waiver they know there is flexibility and it will be harder for you to enforce the rules later on.

Once you have read the books, or sung soft songs, or whatever you have decided you are doing for  your bedtime ritual show your child that the clock shows it is the time for bed. Initially you may consider taking a few minutes before the end of your ritual to teach your child some deep relaxing breathing techniques, teach them how to relax their toes, their calves, their knees, their thighs, etc. (It is a great way to teach them body parts too.) You can also teach them the art of using their imagination to create a story or pretend they are interacting in one of the stories they know from reading. My mom used to have me make up stories in my head, it always put me to sleep, I do it to this day actually. With my grand daughter we would talk about what she was going to dream, she would tell me what she hoped she would dream about, and then in the morning we would talk about whether she did or not.

Remember to be consistent in what you do. If your spouse would like to do something different than you then that is fine, as long as they are consistent with their ritual and you are consistent with yours and that your child always ends up with lights out, in their bed at the same time.

Your child going to bed relaxed and calm will often affect the mood they wake up in. It does for me, does it for you?

What are your bedtime rituals? What are your favorite books to read to your children before they go to bed? Can you recommend any good relaxing music to play for them as they wind down for the night?  Let us know what you do.

-Sheri

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Tags: bedtime advice, rituals, sleeping routines