Tips for Parenting
Establishing a Healthy Bedtime Routine
Why is it important to have a Bedtime Routine? Strategies for Toddlers and Preschoolers
● Routines create security - a consistent, peaceful ● Plan quiet activities 30 minutes before bedtime to bedtime routine allows your child to transition from slowly set the stage the motion of the day to the calm state of sleep ● Give a clear 10 minute advance warning about ● Sleep is as important to a child’s healthy bedtime by setting a timer development as nutrition and exercise. ● Incorporate rituals of teeth brushing, putting on pj’s, ● Bedtime routines consistently followed each evening washing and bathing as part of the routine become a comforting way to settle down ● Read books together ● The key to creating healthy sleep patterns is ● Talk about how your child’s day went or plan for the developing rituals and routines that help to soothe a next day child and help him/her learn to fall asleep. ● Play soothing and calming music ● Through bedtime routines, you are teaching your ● Make a ritual of putting out lights (child could pretend child how to comfort and relax themselves. to blow them out) ● Touch, motion, sound, lighting and togetherness are ● Snuggle your child tightly under the covers basic calming elements ● Create your own “good night kiss” game (kiss each ● Usually a 15 to 20 minute routine will establish hand first then cheeks) bedtime, although your child is always in control of ● Remember younger children will resist any changes when he or she actually goes to sleep to their routine ● Do NOT include any screen time as part of your ● Write out your bedtime routine or make a picture routine - exposure to screens will stimulate your chart to help your child child’s brain which does not help them relax
Reminders: Resources for Parents on Sleep:
The Sleep Book for Tired Parents by Rebecca Huntley ● You still have to put your preschooler to bed - it The No-cry Sleep Solution by Elizabeth Pantley doesn't work to send them off to bed alone Helping Your Child Sleep Through the Night by J. ● Use the last few moments of your routine to tell your child something good about him/herself - tell them Cuthbertson you love them in your own special way ● Use the bedtime routine regardless of whether it has Bedtime Books for Children: been delayed - consistency is the key ● Decide on your routine BEFORE bedtime - how The Sleep Fairy by Janie Peterson many books you will read, how long you will snuggle Mommy, I Want to Sleep In Your Bed! By Harriet Ziefert before lights out - talk about this routine with your child to prepare them for it Dr. Seuss’s Sleep Book Goodnight Construction Site by S. Duskey Rinker ● If your child struggles with staying in bed, remind Little Owl’s Night by D. Srinivasan them “you don’t have to fall asleep right away, but Llama Llama Red Pajama by Anna Dewdney you do have to stay in bed” - return them to the bed if they get out after lights out - be consistent! ● Preschoolers need between 11 and 13 hours of sleep at night
For further information contact Lori King - Early Learning Parent & Family Teacher 952-758-1795 or [email protected]