I would like to develop a new bedtime routine for my 5 year old son, especially given that he is about to start kindergarten. Currently his routine is that around 7:30 he stops playing, and is allowed to watch about 1/2 an hour of TV- generally one show that we find On Demand, something fairly calm, like Berenstein Bears... no crazy superhero shows. Other than that, and a little on weekend mornings, he really doesn't watch TV. After the show we go to his room, he brushes his teeth and goes to the bathroom, and I (or my husband) reads him a few stories. Whoever is reading tends to stay with him for a few minutes.
The problem? Well, even though its not a LOT of TV I can see how dependent he is on it, and I don't like it. Personally I'd rather go to a bedtime routine that includes NO TV on week nights. The problem is it really is his transitional time, and what he uses to calm down for bed. What do people think, and what you do to calm your child down for bed?
An alternative to TV might be Books on tape (cd, whatever!). My 5 yo loves the Magic Treehouse series, among others, and listens to them all the time. They definitely soothe him and while we don't usually listen before bed he occasionally falls asleep listening in the late afternoon so they must be calming.
Our bedtime routine for our 7 yo son is almost the same: bath, tv show/snack/brush teeth/bed.
You could always substitute reading books for tv. My son was 5 when I read him his first "chapter book", Treasure Island...O. chapter per night. He loved it!
We do the same routine at our house. I really think it's not a bad routine. It lets the child settle down before going to bed. That is how I settle down before I head to bed, so why wouldn't he like to do the same, ya know? We have no fights and like a previous poster said, kids lives are so structured it's probably nice for your child to zone out for a half an hour a day. That's the best time of day for me!!! :D
I would let your son have his 1/2 hour of TV while you are making dinner. Then cut out the TV time at the end of the day. Explain this to him so you have a smooth transition to the new routine. At bedtime, add in a bath before books and reading time. I agree with you, you don't want the TV program in the evening to become a crutch.
We have a kindergartener and 2nd. During the winter we do have the tv on for a while before bed during snack. This is after any homework is completed for our son (2nd gr). My daughter practices her reading in the afternoon. After snack it's time to wash up then a story or a few chapters of the chapter book (a Magic Tree House book usually).
Sometimes we don't have the tv on at all due to getting home from town right at bedtime due to cub scouts.
Do you have an evening snack? I would try having the evening snack and putting together a puzzle...could be a larger one now that he's five that you need to work on for a few evenings or a quick one. Or try coloring/drawing. Then upstairs to wash up and read a story. It might be a little tough in the beginning but he'll get used to it. It might even be easier now that it's summertime. You're outside so much so the tv won't even be on.
Your bedtime routine sounds reasonable. I look at TV this way (and my 2 year old son watches about the same 1/2 hour a day, though for him, it varies), kids are learning and doing so much a day that even reading is a bit of a challenge for them-- especially if you're like me and always saying "What's that letter?" "What's he doing here?" "Does he look happy or sad?" etc. when you're reading to him. What's the harm in having him zone out for a half hour before bed? I hear what you are saying about not liking him being dependent on it, but he may be dependent on it because he truly needs that "down time" to make the transition from being busy to sleeping. I honestly think that's why prime time TV is so popular across the US-- people need that time to "veg out" before they go to bed.
So, my advice is to leave him be. Kids have so many rules and schedules and expectations placed on them. I'm a big believer in "pick your battles." If this is something you truly think is harmful or detrimental to his development, then of course you must make a change. But if this is about being the perfect mom and having the perfect kid (and hey, we all fall into that time and time again), then give the kid a break. Sounds like he's doing great!
Definitely a nice warm bath then brush teeth and read only 2 books. My kids never never go to bed without a bath or now sometimes a shower for my 6yr old. They know bath means bedtime.
Our routine is the same as yours, except that at 7:30, she reads us stories! She gets to pick the book and then read to us. Even if your son is not reading any words yet, he could still "read" you a picture book. Then as he learns to read words in Kinder, he will be able to read more and more to you. My daughter just graduated from Kinder today, and she is reading us Dr. Seuss books, Fancy Nancy, etc. This is a good activity to wind down to at night, I think, and serves a dual purpose of practicing reading.
Hi. I have a 5 year old daughter and we have almost the EXACT same bedtime routine!
I see that my daughter depends on the show before bed and if we may miss it, she gets upset about it. We often threaten to take it away if she misbehaves. It seems to work.
I know what you are saying about the transition time and calming him down... it does the same for our daughter. I thought about changing it... but I think she really needs the "down time". And if the shows are apprpriate, then I don't see anything wrong with it.
At 5 years old, he should be able to understand and adjust to a change in this routine though, if you wanted to go to NO TV on weeknights. Then he may look forward to having weekend "movie nights" with the family instead.
Let me know how it goes =)
