Aug 8

Bedtime Tips

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Tips for Getting Children to Bed on Time

 By Jennifer L. Tuso

 For some kids, letting go of the day and going to bed can be difficult. However, not getting enough sleep will make the next day with your child even more challenging. To successfully get children to bed on time means taking the time to get your child’s mind and body to relax.    

 No TV or Video Games Before Bedtime

 Even though your child is just sitting and seems to be relaxed, watching television or playing video games actually stimulates the brain. It’s the light in the screen that causes problems, actually making the brain think it’s daytime and time to wake up. Eliminating screen time before bed and removing televisions and computer games from a child’s bedroom will help children fall asleep at bedtime.

 Dim the Lights

 As with the light from the television, bright lights in the bedroom confuse your child’s body about whether it’s time to sleep or time to be active. Instead of using bright overhead lights when getting ready for bed, use a small table lamp with a soft light. This helps your child’s body naturally get ready to sleep.

 Play Music For Relaxation Before Bedtime

 One electronic gadget that can help your child fall asleep is a CD player. When you turn out the lights, turn on some soft lullabies. This gives your child something relaxing to focus on, lulling him to sleep.

 Talk About the Day

 Before getting into bed, talk with your child about the day. Part of a child’s resistance to bedtime may be that he had a good day and doesn’t want it to end. Talking about his favorite parts of the day helps him let go of the day. As a bonus, you’ll learn a lot about your child’s interests and school day.

 Make Bedtime Important

 If you make bedtime a time to focus only on your child (or children) without distractions, then your child will look forward to the bedtime routine. Ignore the phone, email and other distractions and devote yourself to your child when getting him ready for bed. This helps end the day on a positive note, which makes your child think of bedtime as a positive thing. 

 These simple steps don’t take much time to implement but can make a huge difference in your bedtime routine. The goal is to get your child to relax, transition from daytime to nighttime and keep bedtime a positive experience so that bedtime does not turn into a battle.

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