Lately, Andrew has been complaining that our bedtime ritual for Isaac is too long. Decide for yourself.
Part 1: Cleaning
This part of the nighttime ritual starts around 7, when Isaac goes in the bathtub. Or maybe 6:45. Or maybe earlier, depending on how whiny he's being. We wash, then play as long as he wants to be in the tub. Although he loves his baths, this is usually no longer than about 15 minutes. Then we get clean pjs. As a side note, do people with 16 month old children really get more than one day's use out of pajamas? Because every single day, his get dirty. I digress. Once properly clothed, we brush Isaac's teeth. He likes this for about 3 seconds, and then clamps his mouth shut. We ask him to open again, the the cycle repeats itself. In about 4 cycles, we do all the brushing he's going to give us, and this part of the evening is over.
Part 2: Prayer
This part technically isn't part of the bedtime ritual, as it's where we fit our family prayers. But I guess it does fall in the same window of time. We start by singing a song, usually a primary song, and all move into Isaac's room where we kneel down. We try to have Isaac kneel as well, and this has worked twice in the several weeks we've been working on it. Mostly we just hold him and clamp his arms in a folded position while the other parent says a [short] prayer.
Part 3: Book
Every night we read the same good night book to Isaac:
I love this book because it's sweet and because it's short. One sentence per page, and it's only about 8 pages long. For the first couple pages, Isaac sometimes tries to escape, but by the end, he listens as we give him kisses and cuddles and then say goodnight.Part 4: Song
I know, I know, we just had a song. But that was a FAMILY PRAYER song, not a lullaby, and I am a firm believer in lullabies. (Can you tell this has been discussed somewhere else?) So, we sing a lullaby, which could also be a primary song, but could also be something else. Then we hand Isaac his yellow stuffed giraffe, tuck him in, and say good night.
It's not really to long, is it?
Yes, he is definitely a first child. Our last one will probably have the book and stuffed animal thrown to him as we walk by the doorway. Too bad Isaac doesn't even appreciate what he's got.
2 comments:
I think that it all depends on what your parenting goals are. If you want to be a part of your child's nightime routine and make it something they will always remember then plan accordingly, if not, then plan accordingly. I personally found it easier to have a little bit longer routine because it gave the kids (and me) and little more time to settle. It was also easier to throw another one into the mix for me because I bathed one in the sink while the other was playing in the bathtub. My kids share a room so putting them down at the same time with the same routine lead to a really easy transition, and I have NO problems with them going to bed...although sometimes I have to sing an extra song or three. :)
I don't think that's too long at all! Maybe that's because it's really similar to what we do. :) For us, we usually even read 3 books to her. But honestly it only takes about 30 min total anyway.
We always do this routine (sometimes skipping the bath) and I really think it's helped Bridget be a good sleeper. She can go from wild and crazy to completely calm and ready for bed because of it.
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