Our Toddler Bedtime Routine

I’ve blogged about baby sleep patterns and bedtime routines before.  Having a newborn without a bedtime routine has reminded me of the importance of getting one started and the importance of the routine in my girls’ lives.

When H was around a year old, she LOVED bedtime.  She would ask to go to bed.  We found this shocking compared to what some of our friends were saying about how their children reacted to bedtime.  The only explanation is that we had a consistent bedtime routine.  She had something every evening that she could rely on.  And she loved it!

I can’t say that she still loves bedtime.  After all, she’s three years old!  But I can say that both she and M enjoy the bedtime routine.  It’s a calming time for both of them and a good bonding time for the family.

Different routine elements may work for different families or may be flexible elements.  Sometimes we include a bath.  Sometimes we include a story.  When the girls were littler, we always included a story.  It’s nice now that they’re older that we can be flexible about things.  So here’s what it looks like most nights.

7:30 – Potty time.  (Hallelujah, they can take themselves!!)

7:35 – Pajamas on, teeth brushed, beds ready.  Also, we get chapstick and a drink of water.  We didn’t used to include those things, but they’d become things the girls would come ask for after being put to bed, so we started heading them off ahead of time.

7:45 – Meet on the couch for songs and prayers.  This is also when we do a story if there’s time.  We sing 3-4 songs depending on the night.  Then, each person says a prayer and we sing one final song (always the same one).  Then hugs and kisses and we tuck them into bed.

Really, it’s a very simple routine, but I feel like it makes a world of difference.  When we skip an element, the girls are unhappy and go to bed unhappy.  It sometimes even takes them longer to fall asleep on those nights.

So what about you?  Do you have a set routine?  Anything different than ours?