I have many years of experience with getting kids to bed on time and keeping them in their bed! I do think we have mastered this for the most part. So, I am going to share five tips with you that work for us.
1. Find a workable routine and stick to it. This is especially important for little kiddos. You need to keep the same routine each night. We put jammies on, brush teeth, and then give kisses. If the routine changes, you can expect there to be some issues.
2. Stick to the same bed time each night. We may give a bit more time on the weekends but not much. We found that the kids do much better each night when we stick to the same time of putting them to bed.
3. State your expectations. Tell your kids you expect them to stay in bed. I have resorted to begging at times (haha!) but I do know that it does work best to tell Johnny (specifically him) that I expect him to stay in bed all night and to not get up.
4. Praise your kids for doing what they are supposed to. After a good night of staying in bed, I tell Johnny that I am proud of him for staying in his bed all night and for not getting up. Kids just want to please us… tell them they did and you are more likely to get the good behavior.
5. Don’t give in! If your kiddo wants water, then wants to go potty, then wants water again, you know you are being tricked. Stick to your guns and tell them no. Stop giving water earlier in the evening so those late trips to the bathroom aren’t necessary. Don’t give in to the every whim of your child. They will live without the blanket they threw on the ground for the tenth time simply to get you back in the room. You need to just draw the line. Eventually those behaviors will stop when the kiddo realizes it isn’t working!
What are some tips you have? Be sure to head over to DramaU to submit some stories and potentially win some great prizes!
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