By Sarah E. Visbeek, author of In the Trenches of Mommyhood
Starting out this school year with a 4th grader, a 2nd grader and a 1st grader, my husband and I decided to change the nighttime routine in our household. You see, we have always put all three boys to bed at the same time. Every night. Which worked fine, but I have a 6-year old who definitely thinks he is older than he is and who forgets that he is the youngest in the family. Someone was getting too big for his britches.
(Yet he still has a blankie and sucks his thumb.)
So this school year, we have implemented a staggered bedtime routine: 8:00 for the 6 year old; 8:15 for the 7 year old; and 8:30 for the almost 10 year old.
And it’s actually working out better!
Instead of randomly assigning a bedtime every night based on how the boys behaved that evening, they now KNOW what time their bedtime is. And they are watching the clock, fully prepared for when the clock strikes bedtime.
I love it.
Each child is getting special one-on-one attention when my husband and I tuck them in individually.
The only bad part?
Schlepping up the stairs three times in 30 minutes instead of just once!
What is the bedtime routine in your household?
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Like what you see? Check out other posts by Sarah:
- Meal Planning Made Easier
- Back to School Preparedness… Or What NOT to Do
- Welcome to our New Weekly Columnist: Sarah of “In the Trenches of Mommyhood”!
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