Bedtime routine that turned stressful nights into peaceful sleep with calming habits, better schedules, and relaxing nighttime activities for the whole family.
For as long as anyone could remember bedtime, there was always an unwanted fight each day in our home. It was always tiresome every single evening with accusations of crying, stubbornness, continuous pleas for water, “one more story please”, “just one more ‘sleep well’, enjoy’, another round of cuddles and once in a while even worse, breakdowns. Some days, bedtime was not the expectations of showers and lights out but an overall happening from the start.
Towards the end of the sixth month, there was a bit of a lot of pressure getting to both me and him every time the sun wanted to take a break. This was not always the feeling though that the both of us had towards bedtime. The routine only begins after we make sure everyone is dirty from playing games with one another the whole day. Even with the lights turning off, there is still toss and turn, and the lyrics of the moth faffing reduction and less disheveled and more dynamic less frequent.”
Eventually, we came to a very astute observation. The trouble was not confined only to slep, we understodd that the problem was the chaos of bedtime as such. Every night was different and that was what made it more challenging.
So, we’ve decided to implement a nightly ritual in the attempt of being consistent. To be honest, the goal wasn’t really great changes. But in about two weeks, the situation began to improve.
The very first thing that was done, was changing the attitude towards how much time of the day was spent looking at the screens. Previously, it was commonplace at my home to have the television and mobile phones on up until everyone was about to retire. One could not put away made-for-entertainment content and its butterfly effect on relaxation was undeniable. So, the rule became to switch the screens off at least one hour before falling asleep. Of course, there were meltdowns in the beginning but as the days went on this became a norm.
Then, we established the hour at which everyone will be in bed. Instead of sleeping at various hours every day of the week, we chose one bed time and went to bed at the dot each day, validating even the weekends. Little by little, this signaled the body about the resting time.
Finally, and this is the one we all have come to agree, was adding a hot bath at the end of each day. The idea was as simple as it could get but that turned out to be very effective. The warm water had a way of calming down the person and indicated that the overscheduled part of the day is over.
Upon finishing the bath activities, the next item on the list was quiet time. On the one hand, there were no loud games, energetic dog chases, or tapping on the floor. During this period, the bulbs were set from strident luminescence to soft and the surrounding was kept tranquil. For a difference, we at times listen to some soft slow music and even work on some surveys in low soft voices.
After which came yet another vital part of their everyday schedule which was reading. Instead of browsing our smartphones once again, we began to have a habit of reading to the girls short bedtime stories. It was hard to obtain a deep undisturbed sleep due to the change of routine, it was loud or noisy. It was hard to obtain a deep undisturbed sleep due to the change of routine, it was loud or noisy.
The worst thing was the actual convincing of the children that it was time to go to bed or that the time had run out. The worst thing was the actual convincing of the children that it was time to go to bed or that the time had run out.
Rather, it worked surprisingly well when that regard was attended to at an earlier point in the day. Parents had always felt like it was time for bed just when the process of eating was still going on. In those kinds of situations, it was not surprising to find them in the midst of getting ready for bed such as dressing the children up, washing the children, and in most cases looking for their blankets at the last minute. But things have changed, and we begin the process, which takes less than an hour at a slow and non-rushed pace, well before bedtime.
We also stopped arguing during bedtime. At some point, when my children were younger, the situation tended to escalate rather quickly. Arguments began to raise because emotions were too high. But once everyone began to practice more self-control and be much more tolerant, the stress on children trying to sleep remarkably decreased. Children, however, tend to pick up on tension in adults quite fast.
One of the considerable adjustments was the temperature of the room while ensuring it was also dark and quiet. This very minor things including soft cushy pillows, fresh bed sheets, a little ambient lighting—altogether worked up some comfy little corner in which to relax in.
Although it was a great change for the better, there were some nights where things were the same. There are still times that are hard up until now. However, the change is tremendous. Nighttimes are not as stressful anymore.
There was one lesson that came back to us again and again – it was that children and even people who are older prefer and adjust easier to regularity. Such regularity in any activity even children’s play, gives a sense of security hence freedom of the brain.
It is much less intense to prepare to sleep now and everything is settled before bath time. Instead of receiving complaints, all members of my family have calm evenings which make them all sleep better and rise in the morning in a better mood than before.
