Everyday Life and Happiness

When our oldest AJ was born almost 11 years ago (geez..did I REALLY say 11?) he didn’t come with a manual or guidebook for new parents. Seriously, God if you are listening…this would be an excellent addition to the whole baby package thing!

So when AJ began toddling around, we didn’t do anything about bedtime routines or understand how important they really are. We would spend countless hours locked in a power struggle which made NO ONE in the house happy. When our son Jackson was born I had every intention to make changes to our routines so that we wouldn’t have to go through the same bedtime battles again. See how I said I “intended” to do this? I bet you guessed by now that we still go through the same battles. Even the best of intentions fall short without consistent action.

Many times I would just throw up my hands and let them do whatever they want to do because it is easier than sticking to a schedule. I find myself still doing this today especially if I get caught up doing work online or am just plain tuckered out by the end of the day. But what has really helped us is making a picture bedtime routine chart.

Here is how you can create your own:

Determine your child’s Bedtime Routine Schedule
Sit down with your child and create a bedtime routine. Make this fun by asking your child to tell you what things need to be done during their bedtime schedule and where in the schedule they think  it should go. Determine when the bedtime routine should start and how long each task should take.

Find or Make Pictures for your Bedtime Routine Chart
There are many ways that you can find pictures to use on your bedtime chart:

• Let your kids draw their own pictures
• Draw pictures for your kids
• Let your kids cut pictures out of magazines
• Take photos of your child actually performing their bedtime routine

Here is a tip:  The more involved you let your child get in making their bedtime routine chart the more likely they are to follow it without the battles!

Putting It All Together
You can use a posterboard or foam board to create your bedtime routine chart. Remember to make this fun for your child to help you with. Use his/her favorite colors, stickers, glitter…anything that will get your child involved in making their bedtime chart!

Here’s an example of our bedtime routine for our youngest Jackson who is 4:

8:00 Start Bedtime Routine

1. Take a Bath
2. Brush Teeth
3. Put on Pajamas
4. Read 2 Books
5. Hugs and Kisses
6. Lights out

8:30 pm End Bedtime Routine

On our bedtime chart I laminated the pictures we use to represent each thing that needs to be done on the chart and put velcro on the back side. We put a dividing line on the page and let Jackson move each task to the “DONE” column when he is finished. This is the part he REALLY likes!

Now you need to remember…this is not a rulebook!  It’s a guideline to help your child perform their bedtime routine. There will be nights where they just don’t want to do this…believe me!  I’ve come across them. There will also be nights when you don’t start or finish on time ~ this is ok too. The goal is to make bedtime easier as a whole.

How are bedtimes with your kids? What works for your family?  I’d love to hear your stories!