This is a collaborative post
Bedtime is often like wartime in many households, as parents and kids battle one another in something as simple as going to sleep.
Unfortunately, some experts have said that the coronavirus pandemic has severely affected children’s sleep patterns, so making sure they get a good night’s sleep has never been more important than it is today. It’s not enough to try and shout them into submission, and this matter may require a bit more sensitivity.
So, what tips might be helpful here? Read on after the jump to find out how to make your children’s bedtime less stressful for all parties involved.
Create a Cool Bedroom
Bedrooms can either be dull and dreary or exciting reflections of the one who sleeps in the room. There’s rarely any middling result on this spectrum.
Creating a cool and exciting bedroom could incentivise your children to go upstairs and get to sleep with fewer protests. If you have more than one child, things like bunk beds are fun for kids, with each of Bedkingdom’s being colourful and characterful. Some of their range even having things like flexible storage options, with shelves built into the sides for a more dynamic bedroom. If you have an only child, a higher sleeper with a desk area fitted beneath makes things a little more rad.
Further ideas may include decorating with memorabilia from their favourite fictions, featuring imaginative wallpapers, illuminating ceilings with starry designs, and displaying any awards they have won on shelves or walls. After creating a cool bedroom that they love which perfectly encapsulates who they are positively, everybody should win, making bedtime much less of a chore.
It’s worth remembering that it’s important not to go overboard here. Bedrooms should be spacious, not cluttered, so include what you can while also keeping the room free of things like trip hazards.
Provide a Reminder an Hour Before
If your children’s bedtime is edging nearer, a gentle reminder an hour or so prior to lights out may stop tempers flaring.
It might seem like a peculiar point to make, but if your children are in the middle of having fun, its abrupt end can be incredibly sobering and perhaps even irritating. One minute they’re in their bubble of joy and freedom, and the next, they’re being wrenched out unceremoniously. If you frame the bedtime with that outlook, it can be understandable while they might become angry, even if it’s not excusable behaviour.
A gentle reminder gives them the opportunity to come to terms with the fact that the time for play is ending. That way, they can manage the final hours of the day’s freedom more effectively. They can save their video game, have a lengthier goodbye with their friends online, or not start any other activity that will take longer than an hour to complete.
Make Light of Trivial Matters
If you’re experiencing stress when trying to get your children to bed, a subtle shift in perspective may help you deal with things a bit better if they’re just being stroppy for the sake of it.
Kids can throw tantrums for exceptionally peculiar reasons indeed, with parents regularly rallying online and sharing how bizarre things can really get in these incidents. It may help to know that that you’re not alone, and that sometimes, your kids can just be strange, petty, and argumentative. It’s in their nature, and at the end of the day, there’s a reason why ‘behaving like a child’ is often used as an insulting phrase…
Be stern when scolding your children if they’re misbehaving before going to bed. However, once they’re up there, don’t shy away from having a quiet chuckle at how stubborn they can be in making mountains out of molehills. So long as their attitude isn’t a sign of something bigger, sometimes laughing these things off can provide a release from all the stress.
Enquire About the Next Day
If one of your children doesn’t want to go to bed, it might be because they’re fearful about what they may wake up to the next day.
Unfortunately, bullying has always been a common issue for kids. These days, much of the vitriol takes place online also, so even though lockdown may have kept them at home for a long while, they may never have been wholly free of those giving them grief. Therefore, it might be worth considering this as a potential reason as to why they don’t want to, or can’t, go to sleep.
It’s important not to jump to conclusions. However, if they do seem overly angry or even strangely sad about turning in, it might be worth sitting them down for an honest discussion before making any further attempts at getting them to bed. You should be able to read your child like a book, so if you have any suspicions, start a meaningful, considerate dialogue to clear the air and work some solutions. The next bedtime should be easier when these types of matters are put right.
Disclosure: This is a collaborative post