Parenting 101~10 Ways To Get Your Kids Back To a Bedtime School Routine

It’s that time of year once again and here we are trying to wrestled our children back to a bedtime school routine, Is this you? I remember telling myself I am going to keep a semi descent bed time routine throughout the summer, but with the sun setting down sometimes past 9 p.m. and the eagerness of next day’s activities, I couldn't quiet keep up that promise. Now I find myself with 5 overexcited not ready to call it a day kids. This past week I begin working on getting them to settled down enough to be ready for bed, and here are some of the ideas we been implementing for getting back to a Bedtime School routine.

1. Keep your kids active  Throughout the day, keep them busy let them ride their bikes, encourage outside time as much as possible, have a soccer match, basketball tournament, let them run, jump, skate, dance, hop, even run through the sprinklers. You get the point keep them as physically active as possible, so by the end of the day they have used up all that energy.

2. Go on a walk One thing that always works for our family is going on walks, we usually are able to get all their wiggles out before going to bed. It is also another way to connect with them and talk about the day’s events.

3. No sweets before night We have all heard not to give our children sugar before they go to bed. One thing is that sugar like caffeine is a stimulant that releases cortisol!  If you have children like mine that swear they are starving right when its bed time, here is a list of ideas of snacks that are OK before night

Cheese Stick and whole grain crackers

Apple Slices and Peanut Butter

A cup of Warm milk with a spoon of honey

Whole Grain Cereal and Milk

Bananas

4. A warm bath will always do the trick There is nothing more calming then a warm bath, especially if you add Lavender body soap or a drop of essential Oil.

5. Establish and create a mini schedule they can mark off You can go and buy a chalkboard, or print a fancy paper or even just write it down on paper for them. For children to be able to mark off anything accomplish is truly an empowering thing for them.

• Change PJ's
• Brush Teeth
• Comb Hair
• Jump in Bed

6. Turn off the lights or dim them down Turn off all the unnecessary lights, and try to have a lamp with a dim light in your children's room, it will invite the sense that it’s the end of the day and hopefully invite calmness.

7. READ a book or 2 or 3! One of the things that absolutely works in our home is to read. Start reading to them again, even if you haven't done it for a while. This takes away the need for them to entertain themselves jumping from bed to bed, or wrestling till you blow a whistle in despair. You become the center of the entertainment and children love that connection that comes from being read to.

8. Bed time tunes A lot of times I deal with my kids saying mom "I'm not tired", "Mom I'm scared" even after baths, routines, walks, turning off lights and reading books. I figured I was done right!!! but if this is the case I have found that I can comfort them by playing some bed time tunes. Go and buy a CD or put one together of your favorite soothing and calming songs. Music has power to create all kinds of emotions and feelings, and that is no exception to bringing a sense of peace that will calm them more and more song after song.

9. Get them up even when they fight it! It is the hardest thing to do, but when you say is time to get up while they are still in vacation, get them up! I struggle with this one but the more consistent I am with it, the sooner their schedule will adjust to the school schedule. They will also be more prompted to be ready for bed when you ask them to be ready.

10. Tuck them in I don't know about your children, but my children love to be tucked in bed, I usually will cover them and then push the comforter close to them to the point were they feel almost like wrap taquito, then I kiss them Goodnight. Seems to do the trick especially for my older girls.

With a few of these suggestions you should be well on your way to bringing the school routine, back into your homes. Remember the motivation is the key and consistency the answer, and the greatest reward as parents is the knowledge that our children do thrive in routines.

By:  Dennissa Ramirez Mother of 5 very energetic children.