When we think of a bedtime routine, we normally think of that for young child, baby, toddler, preschooler or early elementary school student. However, a good bedtime routine and stable bedtime are beneficial to anyone, especially growing children and teenagers. This is a very easily concept to explain to your child because they all now understand technology and how a phone, tablet or computer needs to charge in order to perform tasks we use them for. Their body is no different. When the body is sleeping, the battery is charging. If the battery battery isn’t adequately charged and someone isn’t getting enough sleep, this can result in poor performance and eventually poor health. This is an easy concept to explain and for anyone to understand.
Therefore, it’s very apparent how sleep effects anyone’s health and performance. Those are very important functions in anyone’s life, but especially a child who needs to get up in the morning, go to school, function and perform. Usually any activity that is important, has a protocol or routine attached to it. Sleep is no different.
Let’s start with establishing the amount of sleep a child needs. A school age child need a minimum of eight hours of sleep, preferably 8 to 10. Teenagers require sometimes more. In fact, some school districts have gone to a later start time for high school students with elementary in middle school students starting earlier. The point is kids need their sleep. They do not need to be on their phones at night or any technology for that matter. Not just me, but most experts recommend that all technology charged out of the children’s bedrooms. If the excuses they need an alarm clock, purchase an alarm clock and teach them how to use it. Establish a bedtime and stick with it.
Secondly, if your child doesn’t already have a routine for getting ready for bed, start one. As I have said before, get all things out that are necessary for the following day. The morning goes smoother when this is done. This includes getting clothes out, backpacks by the door with homework and everything else in them, packed lunches ready in the fridge and I would even get the counter or breakfast table set the night before to aid in food preparation the next morning.
Thirdly, establish a nice routine for the evening. If baths or showers will be done in the evening start the routine early enough to accommodate those tasks. Make sure teeth get floss and brushed. To make all of this goes smoothly, make sure all supplies are in the bathroom stocked so that there isn’t running around the house to find these items somewhere else (this could be a good weekend task for kids, to take inventory of what is needed in the bathrooms).
Fourth, establish what will happen during the rest of preparations for getting ready for bed. Our routine included reading. When they were little, we always read to the kids. Choose books and stories that won’t keep them up at night. if there is a chapter we were reading that was upsetting, I made sure we discussed the topic so that there wasn’t anything to be worried about to sleep. Children will worry and think about a scary story or chapter and this could interfere in their sleep. Chapter books are a good idea to read at bedtime because it motivates kids to get ready for bed so they can hear more night after night. Some of the books we read to our kids were the Harry Potter books, The Three Investigators, many Hardy Boys books, Laura Ingalls Wilder books, the Series of Unfortunate Events books (which included lots of explaining as those books are rather dark). We also read The Bible. We had time for discussion when necessary.
Story time was always followed by a prayer. And then I would go into everyone’s room to say good night to them and then Brad would go in and and ask them how their day was. This was an opportunity for them to tell him anything they were worried about. I usually got a rundown of the day when they came home from school and since he was not home then he didn’t hear that. This was an opportunity for anything weighing on their heart and mind to be discussed. If there was a problem it was a time for a simple solution or plan to solve the problem was talked about. So the child went to sleep, hopefully, not worrying about something, but knowing that there was either a simple solution or plan to fix it. Kids do that too.
I remember, as we were raising our kids, I would come downstairs after they were all tucked into bed, and as I finished the task of my day, got things out for the next day, it gave me a very settling feeling to know, that they had a nice little bedtime routine to prepare them for the following day. Routines are good for children and all of us really. Before a child knows how to tell time, that routine gives them some predictability. Think about the toddler who doesn’t understand the numbers on a clock, but they understand that they have lunch, they have a story, they have nap time, they get up, they have a snack, and playtime, and so on. Routine also gives us a sense of security and knowing what comes next. For a child to go off to sleep, had a good story and a prayer, with all things out for the following day ready to go there is little to worry about.
Consider how productive a child can be, when they are well nourished, well rested, and they have routine in their life. I felt that when I sent child to school, they could handle their job as a student. Think about how well a teacher can focus on their job with a classroom of students who are well nourished, well rested and prepared. Imagine the learning that can go on in the classroom like that. Kids have busy days with so much expected of them in terms of performance in the classroom and in any other activities or sports they are involved in. They need every resource available in them to perform. Good and adequate sleep is absolutely necessary for them. Our daughter, Sasha had an excellent golf coach in high school, Martha Ryan. Martha was very polished, well spoken, smart and savvy. She taught the girls on her teams so much about not only golf, but life. One of her best pieces of advice to the girls was on several occasions she would tell them (paraphrasing here) “The team who wins will be the team that is well nourished, well rested and well prepared, not necessarily the team with the most talent.” Martha knew her stuff. She led many Grand Blanc High School teams to Girls State Championships. Her girls were well rested, well nourished and well prepared with proper attire for weather conditions and always with PB and Jelly sandwiches in their bag and plenty of water.
Kids of all ages need their sleep, routines and a sense what it means to be prepared for school and the activities they are involved in…This can lead them to many Great Days 🍎
