Bedtime is a battle at our house! It always has been. I have never been a fan of bedtime. This is the one time of the day that I dread most. Check out my post from last summer and you will understand why I hate bedtime! If you are a parent, I know you will relate.
This year, I’m actively starting our routine a couple of weeks before school starts. The goal is to ease us in and get us set up for success. Here are my tips to get your bedtimes back on track.
5 Tips To Get Your Kids Back To School Sleep Schedule On Track
- Tire Them Out – Increase activity so they are ready for bed when that clock says it’s time! For us, this means lots of swimming. Being out in the sunshine. Ensuring everyone is getting lots of active play time.
- Wind Down Time – Eliminate the crazy behavior close to bed. At our house that means no running around, jumping, and screaming. At least an hour before bedtime they need to begin quiet time. This is a good time to read or have quiet play time inside. Limit the distractions.
- Reinstate Bedtime – At our house, this begins at 7:30. Our goal is to have everyone in bed by 8. This adjustment doesn’t happen slowly over time, we go cold turkey. When combined with the other tips, it seems to work well for us.
- Follow Bedtime Routine – Our routine is simple. Get PJ’s on (or sleep in underwear as my kids always seem to prefer). Go to the potty. Get their blanket or stuffed animal they sleep with. Night lights on, big lights off. Climb in bed. My husband and I take turns going in to say goodnight.
- No Electronics – We were pretty lenient this summer with electronics, specifically DVD players at bedtime. Our non-summer rules have been reinstated. There are no electronics at bedtime. It also helps to have a break from them up to an hour before bed.
Relaxation Technique
There have been nights my daughter struggles with relaxing at bedtime. She has a hard time turning her brain off and just laying still. This is a guided imagery relaxation technique I have successfully used with her before.
- Get into bed in a comfortable position. Close her eyes and try to relax. Lay as still as possible.
- Have her take a slow, deep breath in. Hold it for 3-seconds. Then slowly let it out. Repeat this a few times.
- I begin to slowly tell her a story she can visualize in her mind. Something calming. It let’s her focus her attention there and it slows her down. Below is an example. I say it very quiet and slow. Pausing in between lines to give her time to see it and think about it.
- Imagine you are walking into a park…There is no one around…You have the entire park to yourself…It’s quiet and peaceful…You see a fountain up ahead…Slowly you walk towards the fountain…The sun is warm and shining on your face…The leaves make a swishing sound under your feet…There is a little breeze that blows your hair…When you get to the fountain you sit down on the edge…Listen to the water trickle down…In the bottom there are pennies someone left…Reach into your pocket and pull out 2 coins and hold them out in your hand…Drop them 1 at a time into the water…Hear them splash and feel the cold water bounce back at you…Stand up and walk towards a bench…As you sit down on the bench you notice a rose bush beside you…There is a beautiful red rose in the middle…Lean in to smell the flower…It is so peaceful that you decide to lay down on the bench…You close your eyes…Listen to the birds chirp all around you…As you lay there you start to relax even more…Your toes start to tingle and fall asleep…Then the tingle slowly moves up into your feet…Then into your ankles…It slowly keeps moving into your legs…Up into your knees…All the way up to your hips…Your entire body is now sleeping from the waist down…Slowly it climbs into your belly…Your back…Your chest…It keeps climbing into your shoulders…Then it moves slowly down your arms…Into your elbows…Then further down and into your hands…Now your entire body is sleeping…The tingling moves up into your neck…Then into your head…Now just feel your body relax as it sleeps.
I tend to get quieter and slower as I progress through the story. She’s not usually ever asleep by the time I get to the end. However, it goes a long way in helping her prepare for sleep and relax.
What tips to you have for getting kids into a back to school bedtime routine?