A couple of weeks ago, HerFamily.ie guest blogger Sharyn Hayden gave her humorous take on night-time antics in her house. If you missed it, you can read it here.
Being able to give our little ones a sense of what’s happening next can be a great first step in establishing good bedtime habits.
And the good news is, it doesn’t have to be a big convoluted process. There doesn’t have to be a song and dance at bedtime. Simple steps can be put in place, whether you have one child or five. The idea is that in time, the little ones will know it’s bedtime – no matter who is putting them to bed; no matter when you’re expecting them to sleep (daytime naps or bedtime); and also, no matter where – whether you’re at home or in granny’s house. Bedtime is bedtime: END. OF. STORY.
Firstly, daytime routines don’t have to be regimental and boring, allowing zero time for anything else in your lives. The world doesn’t have to stop just because you want to have a little structure. Many people get bogged down by revolving the day around naps and end up in a spiral of too much structure and not enough fun.
I want you to have a life too.
A routine should be manageable by anyone; all you need to do is have some fairly structured and regular feeding and sleeping times. I often say to parents, if you get five days out of seven right, then you’re doing great.
When it comes to bedtime, the same rules apply.
1. Create a bedtime routine that can become the anchor of your day: dinner, wind-down, bath, story, bed – or a similar routine that works for you. The process will soon become familiar, allowing your toddler to recognise what’s about to happen and know that bedtime is approaching.
2. The last thirty minutes before bedtime should be the same or similar each evening.
3. Bath time doesn’t have to be at bedtime. If you feel it just excites your little ones too much, then skip it. Have a bath during the day and/or at the weekends when you have more time. If you prefer baths at bedtime, know that it doesn’t have to be every night.
4. Bedtime should be manageable by one person, and it shouldn’t matter who gets the kids down for the night – as long as they go down, right? One or other parent shouldn’t feel tied to bedtimes.
5. If you have incorporated a story or two into the bedtime routine, try and find books that are calming and not ‘activity’ books like those with pop-up pages or things to find within the story. Calm and quiet is the order of the day.
6. Turn the TV off once the bedtime routine starts.
A bedtime routine for a baby/toddler from around six months might look something like this:
6.15pm – Bath (optional)
6.30pm – A little massage and a cuddle while getting into pyjamas and gro-bags
6.45pm – Get last bottle/feed organised and sit down and read a couple of stories
7.00pm – Bedtime. Say goodnight and pour yourselves a glass of wine
Obviously, this can be adapted to suit older children. But the main message here is to keep it simple. The more you stress about it the more likely it will descend into bedlam.
Niamh O’Reilly is a sleep coach. She’s also a baby and childcare guru, a ‘parent nanny’ and, the answer to many a weary parent’s woes. When it comes to baby and child issues, Niamh is your woman. Always on hand to offer a no-nonsense solution, in an approachable way. A regular in the Irish media, (most recently as TV3’s Late Lunch Show’s ‘parent nanny’). At HerFamily.ie, Niamh will share some of her experiences, helping you attain that ‘holy grail’ – nights of uninterrupted sleep for all of the family.
