Bedtime can be so simple – it just takes 5 steps.
After dinner, the clean-up, bath and toothbrush time….after reversing the morning routines, pulling the jammies out from under the pillow and laying out tomorrow’s clothes comes tuck-in time.
When I was a kid, both my parents shared tuck-in time duties. Sometimes mom would go into my brother’s room while dad tucked me in one night, then they’d switch rooms the next night. Looking back, I realize it didn’t take much time to be enveloped in the warmth of family care. Maybe a “this little Piggy game”, a song, a family story or my dad sharing one of his favorite history yarns, covers tucked in around me, and a good night kiss.
Every news item on bedtime and sleep expert will say the same thing: set up a bedtime routine.
You already have one, just adapt it so it works for you. There will be certain components of that routine that won’t differ. No electronics/blue light a few hours before sleep, no raucous music, sugar, or caffeine.
But each caregiver has to adapt a bedtime routine so that it works for them.
When my daughter was little, tuck-in time was the best! I adored lying next to her and reading, chatting, and singing a lullaby. I’m not much of a housekeeper as my family and friends will tell you. I love to cook but don’t like cleaning up. So I would use post-dinner clean-up as the prequel to tuck-in time. If I cleaned up the kitchen, my reward was upstairs.
That’s how I adapted the need to come down to a peaceful, clean kitchen in the morning and get ready for tuck-in time. And you know, seeing that clutter-free kitchen in the morning cycled back into a balanced routine for day and night.
There are five simple steps that can make for a tuck-in time that can be adjusted according to your family. It can be as short as 7 minutes, or as long as 30.
Just make sure you do a bedtime routine every night!
The 5 steps are:
1. Settle Down & Snuggle Up
2. Lullaby Love
3. Engage
4. Enjoy
5. Put the Day to Bed
I’ll be giving some concrete examples for each step during the Back-to-School Bedtime Summit. In the meantime, if you’re looking for a quiet bedtime activity that goes beyond “This Little Piggy” you can get a sneak peak into one of Sleepytime Club’s Bedtime Kits by filling out the form below. It’s a quiet activity with gentle touch that introduces children to Christina Rosetti’s beautiful poem “Who Has Seen the Wind?”
The Back-to-School Bedtime Summit is brimming with helpful, knowledgeable, and caring information from the speakers. It will inspire you to set a consistent, nurturing bedtime routine for your family…one that is simple and works for you.