How can I make my kids bedtime less stressful?

Our top 5 tips

With a 3 and 7 year old, I know how stressful bedtime can be. Fights over going to bed can be one of the biggest struggles you’ll have with your child.

There can be lots of reason for this, but I believe that the majority of kids just don’t want to go to bed. They don’t want to miss out on something, they might be scared of being alone or the dark or they simply want to be in control.

Usually once we announce it’s bedtime in our house, we get the following - ‘5 more minutes please’ or ‘I’m hungry Mum.’

I feel we have made real progress over the past few months so wanted to share what we’ve learned.

Have quiet time before bed

This might sound obvious but quite often the time creeps up on us and you have to announce to a child who is happily playing with their toys that it’s time to go to sleep…. Que meltdown!

We give a 15 minute warning if the boys are playing and then for 20/30 minutes before lights out we will read a book, do some meditating or have a bath. This will help them calm down and relax but also reinforce that it’s nearly time for sleep.

Have a routine

And stick to it! It can be easy at weekends and during the holidays to change bedtimes and waking up times but we have found it much easier to stick to the routine and timings at all costs!

A routine will help children learn that bedtime is coming up, hopefully reducing some of the resistance.

Your routine doesn’t have to be exactly the same but most nights for us consist of quiet/relax time, bath, story and bed.

Work as a team

My husband and I take turns to read the boys a story. If one of us is out, we let our older son have a bit more time playing and get Arlo to sleep first. We also are on the same page with the bedtime routine so that the boys know we both mean business!

Snack before bed

Recently the boys were waiting until they were in bed to ask for a snack so now we make sure they have something just before we go upstairs. Usually a banana or yogurt.

Dress/room temperature

I read that your child should be in a coolish room but not cold. If your little ones are anything like ours, they kick the covers off during the night so we make sure they have warm pj’s on. We have also found that the boys like to be cosy when going to sleep so will often have a hot water bottle.

I hope that these tips are helpful – we’ve found that consistency has definitely helped and sticking to timings the most beneficial.

E x