As a mom to a happy toddler that thrives with a specific schedule and/or routine, this mini article from one of my summer magazines spoke volumes to me:
Your client meeting runs super late, and when you get home hours later, your well-meaning hubby is plopped on the couch with the kids watching Wow! Wow! Wuzby! Eight o’clock bedtime is shot—again. “You might not make it home the same time each night, but that shouldn’t have a negative impact on your kids’ sleep,” say Conner Herman and Kira Ryan, co-authors of The Dream Sleeper. To help keep consistency: Stick to the schedule. Whether it’s your husband, mom, or sitter, your caregiver needs to carry out the set bedtime routine without you. Stress the importance of getting your kids to sleep on time so they’re not cranky and sleep-deprived the next day. The kids will soon learn it’s fine if Nana puts them to bed. Jump right in. If the kids are donning jammies when you arrive, head straight to their bedrooms and savor the last moments of their routine by reading a book or brushing your daughter’s hair. Don’t stress if you miss lights-out. Sometimes a late arrival may just mean a soft kiss on a sleeping child’s forehead. Use your varying work schedule as a teachable moment to show that everyone has to be flexible to make a family work well.
Luckily, I have had the opportunity to be a stay at home mom. For the past four years, I can’t say that I’ve missed out on many bedtime routines. However, I loved the image that the article evoked of “the well-meaning hubby” because we have battled this issue at home as our toddler begged for one more cartoon before bedtime. I stressed that it was time to brush teeth and head to bed but as I stayed put in front of my desktop pecking away at the keyboard or finishing up a specific chore, my husband relented to our toddler’s requests. Needless to say the rest of her bedtime routine wasn’t as smooth as normal when I make sure that we stick to a schedule.
Now with a five day a week preschool program scheduled for August, we’ll soon have to begin enforcing a new schedule (earlier bedtime) for a well rested four year old toddler who’ll have a busy schedule with full-time preschool schedule, ballet lessons, & music lessons—-not to mention naps at preschool rather than at home. Thus, I’ll have to enforce the importance of an official bedtime routine that not only I adhere to with our toddler but one that my husband helps maintain too so that our little school girl is armed with rest for her busy days learning & playing!
What time do/does your child(ren) begin their bedtime routine? What does your child(ren)’s bedtime routine encompass?
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