Time for Bed?

All children need sleep but not all children want to go to bed when they are told. Some want to stay up and continue the fun they were having playing, others want to be obstructive and some just do not feel tired. I saw a child a while ago who did not like bedtime because he said, ‘sleep was boring’. It is isn’t it but it makes us feel better once we have had a decent amount of it.

So what can you do when your child complains (possibly refuses) about going to bed? Well you can explain to them why sleep is important – processing thoughts, to grow, etc and you can also change the way you are getting them to bed. Perhaps a (new) routine needs to be established so they enjoy the path to bed. You could have a crazy half hour before bath-time and then your child could read in bed, they could take a shower then get to spend some time with you playing a low key game or possibly you could read together or relax on top of the bed with them talking about their day.

Whichever route your child takes to bed they should understand that at a certain time the light does out and they need to sleep.

What do you do/have you done so your child knows it is time for bed and you mean business?