Dramau (http://www.dramau.net/) has asked what are five tips & tricks for getting your kids to bed on time and getting them to stay in bed. I had to do 6 because I couldn’t resist. 🙂 I know about this subject all too well. My daughter was notorious for getting out of bed and was impossible to stay in bed. Here are my tips:
1. Keep a schedule. Always put your children to bed at the same time everyday. Being consistent is very important. Children like to have schedules and know what is expected of them.
2. Baths and books before bed are always good tools for them to unwind. A child can not go 0 to 60 and needs to wind down from their daily activities.
3. When bedtime is near, let your child know that they have 30 mins. until bed, then 15, and so on. This way they can start to get prepared.
4. Be stern. It is always effective to make sure your child knows that you are the adult.
5. Use a white noise machine. We have always used fans in our kids’ rooms because I am always afraid we are too loud for them. This will distract any outside noise as well.
6. Keep the room dark. Use blinds and curtains when possible so that if it is still light outside when they need to go to bed, they will recognize it is bedtime because it is dark in their room.
What are some ways you are able to get your children to bed and keep them there?
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Sound machines work for us! We have three kids and would not have survived without our white noise machine. Bought ours at this online store because they offer free shipping: http://www.sleepwellbaby.com
For keeping my kids in bed, I tell them that for every minute they are late to bed or come out of their room, they are to go to bed that many minutes early the next night. It only took ONE time of them coming out 15 minutes after they were put to bed and then going to bed 15 minutes early the next night to break that habit. THey LOVE their reading time before bed and this 15 minutes cut into that quite a bit. They still wander out occasionally but not NEARLY as much…maybe once every other week now. But EVERY time they do, their time the next night is deducted as promised.