I heard a story yesterday from a friend of mine. She has a friend who’s little girl is talking talking, chatting and chatting till 9pm in her room. We all like to have a chat sometimes before bed, even 5year olds are the same…. hey, they might be chatting and downloading their day’s events to themselves or to their friends, or to the little people in the doll house….
Kids like to chat, kids love to talk…. but of course the concern is that they then are not having enough sleep and may wake up the next day a little tired.
So what do you do to encourage the sleep by 7:30pm and the chatting to occur before then?
With the continued story I soon learnt that this little girl is having all things stimulating before bed time. Play, more play, maybe a little tv, and more play.
I soon realised that this little girl needed a little more “wind down time” instead of “wind up time”.
We all need that little wind down time to calm our soul, calm the mind, calm the energy. Kids are the same. Just think about their day…
Wake up…. full of beans….
Play… PLay…. maybe some breakfast…
Kinder… play, more learning…. some climbing…. some drawing… some more play…
A run in the outdoor play area… lots of talking… more talking…. more chatting… more learning…
Home… maybe another play… another run… or an after school activity
Food… more play… more fun…
“SIGH****… after such a day… wind down time is just vital.
Calm, peace, relax, calm the mind, relax the mind
So maybe it would look something like this:
* After dinner, some play, some chats, get all the play out of the way.
* Then bath time… yes there is some play, but it the beginning part of this “wind down time” where kids know after this equals quiet time.
* A story or too.
* Maybe some milk or another story in bed
Sometimes we need to remove all forms of stimulating and make the bedroom a peaceful and soothing environment. With any toys around, maybe try putting them in boxes or in the cupboard.
Kids will soon appreciate the “wind down time” before bed and appreciate the quiet time that is set upon them.
A little quiet time, a little peace, a little relax is something maybe we could all benefit from before bed…
What is your bed time routine for your kids? Is “wind down time” something you do too?
{image}