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The kids are finally back to their school routines and I’m not going to lie, I’m loving the peace and quiet. I love that the kids have more of a purpose to their days. However, I don’t love the crazy mornings and early wakeup calls. There is always an adjustment period when school starts and I swear it all has to do with bedtime. Early to bed, early to rise, makes a man (or child) healthy, wealthy and wise. It’s all about the routine and these are my tips for smooth sailing at bedtime.
Pick out outfits the night before. I remember doing this with my mom, and you know what? It really helps! Spending less time deciding what to wear on the day of means you’ll have more time for breakfast, reviewing homework, chatting, and whatever else you like to do as you start the day. Nobody likes to feel rushed and this helps avoid that morning madness.
Decide on an appropriate bedtime. This summer, we didn’t really have the kids stray too far from their school-year bedtime. However, once school starts, we’d like them to ideally be in their bed by around 8:30pm. That means brushing teeth at around 8:20.
Set the morning alarms. Your kids should have their own alarms in their rooms. Set their alarms as well as setting yours, and never worry about sleeping in again. If you or your children have a tendency to hit the snooze button and slip back off to dreamland in the morning, set up your alarm on the other side of the bedroom and make it as loud and obnoxious as possible. Start waking up at the same time each morning as when school starts to get your body accustomed to the new wakeup time.
Read. We always take the time to read a story before bedtime.
A hilarious twist on a classic bedtime story: When a boy who routinely refuses to go to bed gets a talkative stuffed animal, the tables are turned!
It is impossible not to crack up while reading this all-dialogue bedtime story by Drew Daywalt, the New York Times #1 best-selling author of The Day the Crayons Quit. Scott Campbell’s expressive illustrations bring home the hilarity. Roderick hates going to bed, and the young boy has become quite resourceful in coming up with ways to delay the dreaded hour when the lights must go out. Roderick’s loving parents–fed up with the distractions and demands that have become his anti-bedtime ritual–decide to get him a stuffed animal to cuddle with and help him wind down. However, Sleepy quickly proves to be a bit high-maintenance. Just when we fear the night may never end, Sleepy’s antics become too exhausting for Roderick to bear.
Sleepy, the Goodnight Buddy is available on September 11 that retailers nationwide including Amazon.
I miss those times when we used to read books to our kids. Now that they are older, they read their own books of preference.
It’s so nice to read a fun story for the kids before bed time! I think it really helps them sleep better at night because they’re in such a good mood. These are awesome tips for parents!
My older kids have been setting alarms this year and actually waking up to them. It is amazing and helps everything go smoother. Even their bedtime because they know when they have to get up.
My kids both hated bedtime. This book would’ve been perfect for them, Sleepy sounds like a stuffed animal that would have let them know what it was like to fill the fifth glass of water lol.
When my son was younger I would iron his clothing for the week and we would decide on what he was going to wear the night before for the next day.
This is going to save someone a lot of time! Bedtime can be quite bothersome at times.
These all sound like great tips to get through bedtime with kids. I don’t have kids and I am kind of glad that I don’t have to worry about things like bed time and routines! LOL!
These are some good tips and we do a lot of them. I always have my kids pick out their clothes the night before. It’s much easier. And they’ll sometimes read!
I used to do almost all of this when my kids were younger. It helps them kids settle down better when they have a routine that you can stick to, although my kids often wanted to start conversation when they knew it was bedtime haha.