11.30 pm was the bed time for my kids this summer. For almost two straight months. Horrific, I know. And I am paying for my mistakes. I am not sure how they got to this point, but I am pretty positive that traveling and living on different time zones had a big impact. Plus, where we stayed, it only got dark at around 11pm, so it was impossible to convince the kids that it was time to bed when the sun was still up.
But it was time to come back to reality and we had to do something drastic to be able to get back to our normal bedtime routine because school was starting so soon.
How I got my kids back to regular bedtime routine after summer
I didn't have much trial time to see what would work and what not, so I just tried to copy our morning routine trick.
It's actually very simple, yet it has been working really well.
Basically, nothing changes in their bedtime routine, EXCEPT they have to do each bedtime chore while different songs play.
Every night I turn on the bedtime songs when I want the bedtime routine to start. Which now is around 8 pm.
Each song represents 1 bedtime shore.
For example, they have to pick up their toys during the first song. When the second song starts it's time to go to potty etc.
We usually pick the songs together with the kids so they are more involved in the process.
Our bedtime routine for kids
- Pick up toys and other belongings from the living room and tide up the bedroom. This usually lasts about 2 minutes as I don't want them to get very active and alert before bed.
2. Potty time. If they don't need to (but they always do), they can chill out in their room until the potty time song finishes.
3. Brushing teeth is a fun part, because they love the music we picked out for this bedtime chore. We are using Orajel™ PAW Patrol™ anticavity toothpaste and the matching Orajel™ PAW Patrol™ toothbrushes. This product is a great way to transition your little one(s) to fluoride toothpaste to help protect against cavities to keep young teeth and gums healthy.
4. Pajama time. Before my son hated this part of the bedtime routine. Once we added the music part, he sees much more fun in it now.
5. Story time and cuddles. It's the very best part of the bedtime routine. For this time we make sure to pick a soft music, sometimes it's a lullaby that is being played quetly so we can read the story. Reading aloud to your children is a perfect way to bond with your child after a long day.
Check out Scholastic’s Read2Me Tonight resource where you can find some good info that will help you to stay on track with reading to your child. We read The Three Bees for the Read2Me Tonight Challenge entry (you can actually win the 100 Best Read Aloud Books AND an Orajel™ Paw Patrol™ Brushers Bundle!).
You can get your free ebook here. Also, make sure to check out the 100 Best Read Aloud Books list.
This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of ORAJEL. The opinions and text are all mine.
This post was sponsored by Orajel™. The opinions and text are all mine.