Creating a Bedtime Routine for Kids who Stall
 Thanks to Sleep Number and the Mom It Forward Blogger Network.for sponsoring this post.
Bedtime has been a big challenge at my house for the past few years. My My 3 year old daughter has made it her life’s mission to see just how long she can drag out bedtime every night. It’s partially the age, and I know that. I’ve watched my 3 older boys go through the same thing. She’s just more persistent than most and is that master at stalling so I was excited when Sleep Number asked me to share some of my tips to #StoptheStall.
Bedtime is not my favorite time of the day. That quiet time AFTER kids go to bed . . . that I like, but bedtime itself can be challenging at my house.
Find out WHY they are stalling –Â Kids always have a reason. Sometimes it’s just a bit tricky figuring out what that is. With my daughter, we realized that she was scared of the dark and afraid of being alone. The solution for us was to move a sibling into her bedroom (she was in a room by herself before) and add some night lights.
Start the bedtime routine early – Tired kids are harder to put to bed. They come up with every excuse imaginable to stall. By starting the bedtime routine early you can help them wind down at night and give them plenty of time to mentally prepare for bedtime. I aim for starting our bedtime routine after dinner that way we don’t have to rush through everything and we can get kids in bed before they get overly tired.
Work through any fears – Fear is very real, especially to a 3 year old. Don’t ignore that. Figure out what your child is afraid off and work in ways to comfort those fears to your bedtime routine. For us, since my daughter is afraid of the dark, we go around the room turning on night lights before we read our bedtime story. One of my sons was afraid of monsters. When he was little we’d spray the room with imaginary monster spray. Don’t emphasize the fears before bed. You don’t want your child focusing on that, but definitely take the time to make your child feel safe.
Be consistent – Kids often stall at bedtime because they know they can. If they know you will give in if they push, they are going to keep pushing. Set some ground rules and stick to them. If that means one bedtime story, lights out at 7, or whatever rule you want to set, you stick with it. As soon as a preschooler knows your rules are flexible they’ll take advantage of that.
Work in calming activities – My kids tend to stall at bedtime because they haven’t quite wound down enough to fall asleep. I’ll admit, I’m kind of the same way. You know how as soon as you sit down after a busy day you start to get tired? You were so wound up before that you didn’t slow down enough to get sleepy. Kids experience the same thing. You can make the transition easier by gradually slowing down at the end of the day. Read a story. Lay in bed and listen to a song. Shut the TV off several hours before bedtime. Spend some time talking quietly about the day.
Bedtime can require some creativity. You have to learn what works for your child and as soon as you learn what works, everything changes. Sleep Number is definitely getting creative when it comes to bedtime. Their new SleepIQ Kids™ bed has thought of everything. It is the only bed in the world specifically designed for kids’ unique sleep needs and the only bed that adjusts with children as they grow. It actually alerts you when your kids get out of bed. That’s definitely something I need. My daughter gets out of her bed nearly every night. I find her asleep on the floor next to my bed or curled up next to me almost every morning.
The SleepIQ Kids bed has a head-tilt feature that is perfect for reading in bed or those nights when a stuffy nose keeps your little on up. I wouldn’t mind that on my own bed actually . . .
The coolest part of this bed, though, is what happens underneath it. There are built in lights that you can adjust remotely from your phone and you can even scan for monsters with a cute little feature in the app that lets you zap any monsters you find.
The SleepIQ Kids bed is available in Twin, Full or Queen sizes, and starts at $799.99. For more details, check out sleepnumber.com.
My 4-year-old is a MASTER staller! I realized a few months ago that she stalls more when we have a rushed, busy night and she didn’t get the quality time she needs. I can’t always give her more time, but I can stay a little longer with her at bedtime, and that keeps her from needing to use the potty 45 times.
My 3 year old is my staller right now so I feel your pain. That’s an interesting idea. I bet you are right. My daughter will often stall to get my attention too so I probably need to try and spend more one-on-one time with her during the day.