The Importance Of The Routine Before Bed
Sometimes bedtime seems more like a battle or a power struggle than the placid moment that we all want to share with our children. Repeating a bedtime routine with them each day will make this process easier and more enjoyable for everyone.
I don’t want to go to sleep
Many children dislike bedtime for various reasons. Thus, they resist and put it off as long as possible, sometimes running out of our patience and our resources to make them see reason.
For many, fear is the main reason for reluctance to go to sleep. At night, the little ones are left alone in the dark and may have fears and fantasies about various dangers.
In other cases, it is the excess of activity that prevents everything from flowing properly. Children are by nature active, energetic, and explorers. They enjoy moving, discovering, and doing activities, and it may not be easy for them to relax and stop being active.
It is also possible that the little one has not seen one or both parents all day because of their working hours. Because of this, he feels like spending time with them and refuses to part so quickly.
Preliminary considerations
There are some basic guidelines that we can follow to help our children develop good sleep habits.
- The main thing is to determine what time you need to go to bed. To do this, we must take into account how many hours a child of his age needs to sleep.
- Make sure the time before going to bed is relaxed and calm. In this regard, it is beneficial to eliminate the use of screens at least an hour before bedtime.
- Avoid letting your little one associate going to bed with something negative. Never send him to sleep as punishment for bad behavior.
- Let him know well in advance (about 15 minutes) that bedtime is approaching, so he can finish whatever he is doing without making an abrupt change.
Create a routine before bed
Having a series of activities that are repeated in the same way day after day helps children to have a sense of continuity and stability in their life, and encourages them to integrate this sequence as a habit naturally.
The essential keys that every routine must have before sleeping are, mainly:
- Keep the same bedtime and wake-up times each day.
- Integrate into it the obligations that the child has to perform, such as washing hands, brushing teeth or preparing the backpack.
- Perform quiet and conducive activities to fall asleep.
- Include physical contact and the company of their parents.
Thus, the first thing we must do is take care that the place where the little one is going to sleep is adequate. Low light, medium heat, soft music, and a pleasant smell are a good combination.
Activities for our routine before bed
Next, we have to select the activities that our routine will include. In addition to the mandatory tasks, such as brushing your teeth, we suggest some quiet activities that you can do with your children every night.
- Read tales. It is known to all that children love to hear stories. These blow their imagination and also make them feel valuable and important, since at that moment they have your full attention. Whether you are the one who reads or your little one does, this is a highly recommended activity.
- Encourage positive thinking. Both to combat possible fears and to help your child develop an optimistic mentality, it is advisable to spend these last moments reviewing and sharing all the good things that have happened to us during the day. We can also play together to imagine beautiful things.
- Help you decrease activation. If your little one is struggling to be calm right now, a few simple relaxation techniques can help lower his overall tone. To do this, you can caress him with your fingers or with a soft object while you sing to him. You can also ask him, with his eyes closed, to imagine a ladder going down step by step (with your voice as a guide). At the bottom of that staircase you will find a room full of soft and comfortable cushions in which you will sleep soundly.
