Parenting

What is Your Bedtime Routine?

boy sleeping Even though the best part of my day is waking up to my two energetic boys, seeing them lay their heads down and go to sleep for the night gives me a sigh of relief.

As the saying goes, ‘I work from son up to son down’ and that phrase is true to its word in this house.

They may be at school from 9-3, but they come home in a blaze and keep me running all night.  So when 7 pm comes around, we start to slow things down so that they will hopefully lay their heads down when it’s actually time to bundle up and catch some zzz’s.

But this is not an easy mission.  Between playing dress-up, video games on the Wii, and catching up on the content I tape for them on the PVR, they love to blow off steam after a ‘boring’ day at school so this task comes with some negotiation.  The one bargaining tool, however, that works every time is the bath.  Regardless of what they are doing, they will drop everything for a bath.  In fact, I have been known to let them float around in the tub at all times of the day.

Fill it with bubbles and toys and they will be happy forever.  And at our house – every toy is a bath toy.  We have two buckets of action figures, floating ducks, tubs, cups, and cars just waiting to be submersed.

brothers bathtub

When my boys were little I would put drops of lavender oil under their pillows to help them sleep better.  Now we rub them down with Johnson’s Natural Baby Lotion.  Created from 97-99% naturally derived ingredients, Johnson’s natural baby products do still have a scent, but it is mild and not overpowering.

Johnson's Natural baby lotion, baby shampoo and head-to-toe baby wash

Soft skin, fresh pajamas, and a good story really do go a long way! Home reading comes next and then they are (hopefully) off to dreamland.

Research shows that children who have a consistent sleep schedule score better on tests, and girls are more sensitive to sleep changes than boys.

For both boys and girls, the results “showed that it wasn’t going to bed late that was affecting child’s development, it was the irregular bedtimes that were linked to poorer developmental scores,” Amanda Sacker, professor in the Department of Epidemiology and Public Health at University College London noted when the study’s findings were published in July.

Knowing this we do our best to keep our boys on track, but, at our house, the routine changes depending upon which night of the week it is. On school nights we are a little stricter than we are on weekends.  I allow the party to continue a little longer on Friday and Saturday nights in hopes that everyone will all sleep in the next morning.  Their clocks, it seems, are finely programmed.  So this little luxury rarely happens.

What is your bedtime routine?  Do your kids do something special before bed?


Disclosure – I am participating in the JOHNSON’S® NATURAL® Blogger Campaign by Mom Central Canada on behalf of JOHNSON’S® NATURAL®. I received compensation as a thank you for participating and for sharing my honest opinion. The opinions on this blog are my own.

 

About the author

Lisa Arneill

Founder of Growing Your Baby and World Traveled Family. Canadian mom of 2 boys, photo addict, lover of bulldogs, and museumgoer. Always looking for our next vacation spot!

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