I know that my husband and I can’t be the only parents that both cheer and cringe when it is time to execute our children’s bedtime routine.
In one respect, we are all tired after a long day and ready to put the kids to bed so that we can enjoy our adult time. Tonight was one of those nights when we just needed the kids to go to bed because they were so tired and out of sorts from daylight savings time. By the way – whoever came up with that idea probably didn’t have kids!
On the other hand, after six years, our bedtime routine still feels like a complete train wreck.
We have tried all of the things, but normally our evenings end with raised voices, angry parents and whining kids. No matter how long we let them play in the bathtub, wrestle on the floor, read books, listen to Bible stories, or rest in the dark, OUR KIDS HATE GOING TO BED! It also doesn’t help that we have four kids and a three bedroom house. Our baby daughter Abigail gets her own room which means that our three boys ages 6, 4, and 2 share a room. This leads to a bedtime routine that usually includes some form of WWE wrestling, dinosaur roars and pillow fights.
Even though our nightly routine feels chaotic in the moment, we do have a bedtime routine that we follow each night. This gives the kids a sense of comfort and without it, our little monkeys really do jump off the bed and bump their heads. Our bedtime routine continues to grow as we welcomed children into our family and they grow older. What we did when we had one child looks very different now that we have four kids.To help encourage a restful nights sleep, I highly recommend that you create a bedtime routine of your own that fits your family’s preferences, lifestyle and schedule. A good bedtime routine will help your kid(s) get their final wiggles out so they can calmly (hopefully) fall asleep at the end.
If you do not have a routine established for your family yet, here is The Veteran Mom’s bedtime routine that you can use as a guide.
This bedtime routine is designed for multiple kids ages infant to elementary. Your bedtime routine may look different depending on the number and age of your children.
