As a parent, you know the constant struggle of telling your kids it is bedtime only to hear the screaming start about wanting to stay up longer. This often leads to you making compromises with your kids about going to bed and even making threats on what you are going to take away if they do not go to bed. The problem is these are all going to be you giving up things to your kids and really allows your kids to feel like they are in control when they are not. So how can you start to teach your kids some healthy bedtime habits? That is what we are about to explore here.
Unplug and Relax
When you want your kids to go to bed, you want them to be calmed down. This means you will have to set aside a short time period before they go to bed so they have some quiet. This allows the kids to start to settle down and it helps get them ready for bed faster than what you imagined. When you do have your kids in the quiet time you need to make sure they do not have any electronics around them. The light given off by the electronics has been shown to cause the mind to be active and this means your kids will not go to sleep right away.
Make Sure Your Kids Have A Full Stomach
Going to sleep when you are hungry is nearly impossible. Think about yourself, if you are hungry when you go to bed you have a tendency to stay up or not even get a good nights rest. Your kids are going to be the exact same, except take the kids will end up waking up earlier in the day or even worse not go to sleep at all All of this comes from the fact that your kids are hungry. A great way to head this type of hunger off will be the provide a simple snack before bedtime. It does not have to be anything large, even a package of crackers or a small snack that is not sugar based will help fill the kids up and get them ready for bed.
Have Story Time
If you think back to when you were a child, your parents probably read you a bedtime story. The stories were often filled with happy thoughts and meant to encourage good dreams. When you have kids you will find that spending time with them and reading them a bedtime story can do the same thing for them that your parents reading did. You will want to adjust the bedtime stories more to the age of the kids, but for the younger kids you will find it is good to have the nursery rhymes, their favorite cartoon character, or something similar to help them have good dreams and think about the characters more, I would recommend avoiding stories about monsters as this could scare the kids!
It is a struggle to get your kids to go to bed. However, it is a struggle you can win if you know some ways to teach healthy bedtime habits. By knowing these methods, it is very easy for you to get your kids to bed and know you can enjoy some peace and quiet before you have to go to bed.
