Keeping your children in their bedtime routine can be a challenge. You’re tired, they’re energetic, you look at the time and for goodness sake a 6 o’clock bedtime has turned into 8 o’clock. The inner restraint it takes to stay calm after a long day of work to not turn the bedtime routine into a tearful frustration filled evening is sometimes outstanding.

As a nanny I have put hundreds of children to bed and I sure have learned a thing or two that has made my life and the kiddos bedtime soo much easier! Here’s my 5 tips for bedtime.

Number 1- Do everything HALF AN HOUR EARLIER.

If you say dinner is at half 5, try your best to get it on the table at 5. If you tell them cartoons start at 6 make sure you get them in front of the TV at half 5. This half an hour buffer period does wonders for keeping you on time! Children will always push back. “Can I have one more episode”, “I just want to finish this cartoon”, the shriek of “5 MORE MINUTES” as you go to turn off the controller. This is all avoided if you give yourself a buffer time. Not only do you actually get them upstairs on time but you also keep your child happy by letting them have that one last episode!

Number 2- Project Calmness

In the day i’m all for matching the kids energy. If i’m with a child with high energy, I will also run around like a loony. However when it comes to bedtime I try my absolute best to reduce my energy and project calmness up to an hour before the bedtime routine starts. I speak softer, make sure curtains are closed and lamps are on and I limit my movements or purposefully make them soft. Trust me if you are not calm, your children will be 10 times harder to put to bed. Throw a couple of fake yawns in there as you're reading the bedtime stories and you’ll see the sleepy benefits!

Number 3- Have Everything Prepared

You know what your kid needs for bed. A favourite toy, a blanket, a snack, water. Bring it all outside the bedroom while your child is having screen time or preoccupied with toys. If there is an excuse to squeeze a few extra minutes of faffing around looking for a toy or getting a drink in the pink cup instead of the green cup your kid will take it! Note that the buffer time as mentioned above is perfect for run around demands such as these but it is always helpful to have the staples such as water and favourite teddy close by.

Number 4- Be Patient

This is the hardest point. Especially if you have more than one child and they seem to be really pushing your frustration to its maximum. No one wants to have a shouting match before bed or falling asleep with dried up tears on their face. When it’s already wayyyy past their bedtime and you hear them creeping around the house, take a deep breath, speak calmly, see what they want, fulfil the need and return them back to bed. Sometimes the need is for you to be in the room with them and although this can be difficult after a long day always remember that in calm circumstances it will generally only take a child 20 minutes to fall asleep so stay in the room, be gentle, be quiet and they WILL fall back to sleep.

Number 5- Picking your battles

This is especially true of the more task orientated parts of the bedtime routine. I am working with a child that clearly has a lot of energy, he brushes his teeth well most nights but tonight he is not bothering to get right at the back. He is still doing most of the job but rushing it and messing around. What do I do? I LEAVE IT. I repeat, I leave it and say “okay that’s not how we brush our teeth, tonight you tried so that’s okay but tomorrow we’ll try do it properly”. All of this with a smile and calm demeanour. The routine doesn’t have to be perfect, it just has to work for you on the night working with what options you’ve got.

I hope at least one of these can be helpful for anyone experiencing the Bedtime Struggle. Bedtime can be a great bonding time for you and your little one so keep your head calm and have a good evening!

Thanks for reading! If you have any questions or topics you would like me to discuss in future blogs please send an email to: nannyemmyquestions@gmail.com