What kind of bedtime routines do you have for your 18 - 30 month old munchkins? Have you abandoned the baby routines for something new or continuing to do what you did when they were an infant?
For my 19 month old, we have bath time, get into PJs, lay in bed together and have some milk while listening to lullabies. This is what we have done since she moved to her "big girl" twin bed, where as when she was an infant we rocked in a rocking chair instead of laying together. I think my daughter is "weaning" herself from her before bed milk, so we are looking to transition our bedtime routine accordingly, and I was curious what other mom's of toddlers do :)
Thanks for sharing!!
Thanks so much for all the responses . . . it sounds like most are using books as a wind down activity. I am a little afraid to try this because books are my munchkin's favorite thing and tend to wind her up. I guess that is what I am struggling with - milk time was our wind down activity, and we now need to do something to wind down besides milk. I may try the reading thing and see if she can handle it because I would love it if that would work for her. . . the singing might be a good one too.
We do brush teeth every night as part of bath time . . . offering her water before bed is a good idea for quenching the thirst w/out getting those clean teeth sugary again!
Thanks ladies . . . fresh ideas are so helpful at times like these :)
Pajamas
Read stories
Milk
Bathroom and (usually) tooth brushing
Tuck into bed
We started this routine at 12 months (when we discontinued the night time bottle) and DS will be 5 this month.
We do...
- Bubble
- Brush teeth
- Jammies
- Cuddle on the couch and read for 15-20 minutes
- one episode of a children's show
- to bed!
We both work, so the bulk of our time together is at night- we try to keep the t.v. to a minimum, but an episode of Dino Dan gets him cuddled with his daddy and ready to call it a night. He LOVES books, so they tend to wind him "up" rather than down- lots of questions and "one more, please"
She should be weaning from the milk at night- not good for the milk sugars to sit on the teeth overnight! Try switching her to water as part of your new routine!
We did bath, snack, pee, brush teeth, book, prayers, lights out.
You've gotta make sure they brush before bed.
At that age, we did a bath, brushed teeth (milk during bedtime is bad for the teeth at this age), gave water in a sippy cup, and we read 3 books laying in bed. After the three books, we said prayers, gave kisses and hugs, and then the lights went down and we left. Hope this helps! We keep to this same routine now, at age 4, too!
We take a bath and then have some downtime in the family room, drink milk, brush teeth, read 2-3 books, prayers, hugs n kisses and then to bed she goes. It doesn't always stay the same, we do have some off nights, but just remember to stick to the routine and they will follow it. Some people say, routines are not a good thing. but from what I have learned with my daughter, is that routines are the best. Kids like routines and function so much better being on them.
DS is 2.5, and today we do bath, PJs, stories and then bed. He asks us to lay with him for awhile. So we turn on his starry nightlight and lay in the dark for a few minutes before we kiss him goodnight.
The routine has changed 1000 times, and he's always the one that does it. We just follow his lead. He used to like being rocked, and then one day, wanted nothing to do with it. Same with the bottle/cup.
For stories now, sometimes we read to him, sometimes he "reads" to us, sometimes he just plays quietly with something and we watch/interact for 15 minutes. Whatever winds him down.
Here Daddy does usually does the bedtime routine, but it is as follows - pajama time (with tickles and playing) then a small jigsaw puzzle (24-25 pieces or so) a few times while she is having her milk. After that it is toothbrush and then potty, and into bed. He reads 2 or 3 stories (depends on how long they are) then it is lights out. After lights out he tells her another short story and then she is either asleep or he leaves the room and she falls asleep soon thereafter.
When I put her to bed, I follow the same routine, but with a little less tickle and tussle and a little more cuddling and reading.
Her falling asleep after we leave the room is a new and happy deveopment. For along time we HAD to be there for her to fall asleep. That had started to cause problems because she couldn't fall back asleep in the middle of the night without us there. So I really think that part of your change in routine should include her in bed by herself. I still miss having my daughter cuddled up next to me while she sleeps, but I also am getting a much better night's sleep.
Good luck with whatever you choose to do!
We used to read books to my 3 year old but now she doesn't want to read them anymore before bed. She'd rather just go to sleep! I still sing her the same songs I have since she was a few months old. She brushes her teeth after her cartoon over and then turns on the night light and gets into bed. I lay next to her, cuddle with her and sing her songs and pray with her.
My son and I now read a few books and then he turns off the light (while I hold him) where as I used to just put him into bed. I now say prayers to him and sing him the same songs I sing to my daughter. We sometimes have him 'brush' with water.
Ours sounds pretty similar to yours. Sometimes I use reading a book in bed as an incentive to get her into the bed. We use lullabies and then I turn on a white noise loop (I have older kids loose in the house and the white noise drowns out any distracting noise from them). We often sing a few songs too. Then, I just say it's time to sleep. If she asks me to sing more I'll say, "mama's sleepy" and lay quietly with her for a little bit. She may wiggle around for a while but after a while she gets bored and conks out. I think any routine can work and follow your instincts about what works for your child. Some kids don't mind some variation while others want a very similar routine nightly. Good luck!
My son is 2 1/2
Bath (not every night, but usually every other)
Jammie time
Brush teeth
Get sippy of water
we all (my 6 y/o son and hubby when he's not working) go upstairs to little guys bedroom.
Each child picks out 1 book to read. After both books are done big kid goes to his room.
Little one turns off his light and shuts his door and climbs in bed.
I sing 3 songs (his choice which 3).
We say prayers and I give him kisses and say good-night.
Then I go to big kids room and read his school work, etc. with him
Sing 1 song while scratching his back and rubbing his head
then I lay with him and talk for about 5 minutes about whatever he wants to talk about. we say prayers and they I kiss him goodnight :)
