The lovely team at
Sleep Right have put together their top tips for ensuring the perfect bedtime routine. Let us know what you think!
Calm
Start winding down the household a
couple of hours before bedtime and creating a calm atmosphere.
Include calming
activities in the bedtime routine (any activities that involve hand-eye
coordination are particularly good) – remember this will vary for each child.
Not every child finds bath time calming!! Most importantly, remember to keep
calm yourself – we all pick up on other people’s moods and energy and children
are particularly attuned to parents’ emotions.
If you stay calm then your child
is more likely to be calm too so, if you find yourself becoming anxious or
impatient during the bedtime routine, take a few seconds for yourself, take
some deep breaths and then go back to the routine.
Connect
Make the bedtime routine about
connection with your child.
Remember, even if they are only down the hallway
from you or even in the same room, bedtime and sleep is a time of extended
separation from you which can make children feel anxious. The more you build in
connection, the safer your child will feel and the more rest you will both get.
Create your own rituals around bedtime, for example saying good night to the moon and
stars, saying one thing you really love about each other, something good that
has happened that day and, no matter how the bedtime routine has gone, always
end the day on a positive.
Choice
You are the parent and
ultimately in control of the bedtime routine; however, if you can build in some
age/developmentally appropriate choices then your child will feel more
ownership of the routine and is more likely to comply with it. It can be as
simple as choosing between 2 sets of pyjamas or which story book to read.
Consistency
This is the key to any
successful bedtime routine.
This doesn’t mean you have to do exactly the same
thing every night but there needs to be consistency around boundaries, what is
negotiable and what is not. For example, screen turn off time is non-negotiable
but your child is then able to choose what calming activity to do next.
Consistent bedtimes and wake up times, including at weekends and holidays, will
also help regulate your child’s body clock.
Click here to find out more about Scope's Sleep Right service. 
How have found sleep time during lockdown? Is there anything you would add? Let us know in the comments below!
