A study of 10,000 children between 3 and 7 years old found a kid’s bedtime should be the same every night to avoid problem behaviors.
Tuck the kids in bed, read them the book I Love You Forever, make yourself a sweet Blackberry Mojito and read this post. It’ll give you the resolve to put your monkeys to bed even when they really, really don’t want to go.
Sometimes you can’t deal with the stress of what it takes to get the kids to bed on time. I get it. All parents get it.
It’s been a crazy day and you’re way too tired to spend an ounce more of energy to get your child to bed. When they’re going at full throttle and their “I’m not tired” whines have reached a new record even for them, sometimes we give up and we give in. What could another half hour hurt anyway?
Unfortunately for bone-weary parents everywhere, it could cause a lot more problems than the temporary aggravation of the bedtime battle.
Why Your Kid’s Bedtime Should Be Set In Stone
A research paper titled Changes in Bedtime Schedules and Behavioral Difficulties in 7-Year-Old Children is a dry read, as all great studies can be, but packs a lot of important information.
The study sought answers to three questions.
Are bedtime schedules associated with behavioral difficulties? Do the effects of bedtime schedules on behavior build up over early childhood? Are changes in bedtime schedules linked to changes in behavior?
1. Their behavior gets worse. No surprise here. Everyone with a toddler knows what kind of nuclear meltdown can take place, usually in public, when they haven’t slept. It’s not only toddlers. This will happen to kids of all ages when they’re tired.
2. Children can gain unhealthy weight. From a follow-up study, researchers learned that unpredictable bedtimes can be cause for self-regulation problems. It’s the same in adults.
If we aren’t careful, we will eat unhealthy foods more often and in larger amounts when we’re tired.
(In addition to a regular bedtime, the study also looked at the impact of regular mealtime and strict limits on watching television and/or videos.)
3. A kid’s bedtime that’s a moving target is like jet lag. It’s true. If you’ve ever had jet lag you know what a monster it can turn you into. You wander around like you’re in an episode of The Walking Dead, barely able to do all the “peopley” things adults need to do. That’s how your kids feel when they have unpredictable bedtimes.
4. Bad effects are reversed as soon as kids have a set bedtime. Thank heavens these cute little humans are resilient. (They really are miracles, aren’t they?) Once you set a bedtime and stick to it, no matter how dramatic they may be when it’s that time, you’ll “fix” the other problems.
Do you always get your kids to bed at the same time?
I wish I could say I’ve always gotten this right. Sorry researchers, but sometimes parents can’t begin to get the kids to bed at a decent hour, much less the same time every night.
But, if we can do it more often and make it a real priority, we’d be setting our kids up for success in their day.
Do you have any bedtime hacks for getting your kiddos to bed the same time each night? Please, please, please share to help exhausted parents everywhere!
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11 comments on “4 Reasons Your Kid’s Bedtime Needs to Be The Same Every Night”
I agree to the bedtime need.
Please help
Honestly I’ve found the best way to wind my kids down is to start the bedtime routine at least an hour ahead of their actual bedtime. I bathe them every two days unless the day involved lots of outdoor playtime so if it’s a night when they don’t need a bath, We brush teeth, change into pjs and I get the diffuser going with a special blend of calming essential oils. I turn off the overhead light and turn on a lamp. Then we read a couple books. Activity books work really well to keep them more focused on the book than their desire to wiggle. Keeping their little bodies as still as possible is key. Once it’s bedtime we put the books away and I give the kids their bottles of milk. I know it’s bad for their teeth but they just don’t go to sleep without it.Â
We have a routine similar to the ones described below (for our 2 and 4 year old), but the best tip I have is to remember that you are the parent. When you say it’s bedtime, it’s bedtime. Despite the protests and the whining, just put them to bed. YOU are in charge. End of story.
I started my routine when my twins were 4 months old. Dinner at 5:30, play, bath every other night, pjs, read, sound machine, wearable blanket, song, and into bed at 7. They’re 19 months now and other than when they are sick it’s been pretty smooth. We obviously have a long way to go, and I’m not looking forward to beds instead of cribs and possibly even separate rooms, but we aren’t quite there yet. It sometimes takes them up to half an hour to go to sleep, but they don’t cry at all. Sometimes they play a bit, but they’re always asleep within 30 minutes.Â
I wonder if having the same nap time everyday has the same effect. My 2 year olds bed time is predictable but his nap time at daycare and home are different if we can even get him to nap at home. His behavior recently has been hard to deal with.
Have dinner at 6:30 pm every night. Shower, snack book teeth bed. By 8:30.
Every night the schedule goes.
7pm -bright lights off and tv volume gets turned lower.
7:15pm – kids pick up toys then they may play ABC Mouse (learning game on phone) until 7:50pm.
7:49pm – i say “2 more games (lessons) and then it’s bedtime” …”1 more…”
Then potty, pjs, and brush teeth.
8pm- i give holding in my arms cuddles for 1-2mins, then tuck them in, and leave.
We have brush teeth time, read a book, sing a song, tell a story (made up one) and pray then to bed.Â
I have two girls, ages 6 and eight. In our family we have devotion every night. We read a bible story, we discuss the moral of the story and what it means to be a good Christian. We sing a few song, recite the 25th psalm, recite the lord’s prayer. They then have to tell about something that they are thankful for in that day,, then. They recite their favorite bedtime prior “Now I lay me down to sleep” and off to Lala Land they go. If you plan a routine for the children that they look forward to before bedtime then there is less stress in getting them to wind down to sleep.
I always found a routine helped keep things on track…bath time…snack or feeding…dry diaper and off to bed…adding a story time as they got old enough to enjoy it.