Since it's already been pointed out here that bedtime rituals are a good idea to prevent "sleep resistance" in kids, we thought we'd mine the collective expertise of the Strollerderby bloggers to give you ideas of what might work in your house.
Stefania's girls have a bath, brush teeth, watch 10 minutes of a mellow program, read 2 books (with accompanying chant "two books two books two books" as the girls pick their books), have have kisses/hugs, then they're off to bed! That Stefania, she's got this one wired!
At Alisyn's house, a little OCD goes a long way: 1. eskimo kiss; 2.
hug; 3.
regular kiss
(this sequence repeated 3 times); 4.they exchange forehead kisses; 5. they exchange butterfly kisses; 6. silence or wine and benign neglect depending in the night.
Jessica's kid spends at least five minutes pinching someone else's elbow or knuckle before he can sleep. No word yet on how this will play out in college dorm situations.
At Melissa's house, virgins are sacrificed nightly. Hey, ya gotta do what works, right? And she swears her kids sleep great after that, so who am I to judge?
Kelly has a long bedtime routine that involves carrots, lots of hairwashing, Harry Potter, capturing insects, and waaay too much caffeine. Don't ask.
Mike has little routine save watching old episodes of The Gilmore Girls and crying a lot at the injustices performed by network executives. He thinks there might be a baby in the house somewhere too; don't they sleep a lot?
Sarah's rituals involve dance party, the Simpsons, and books. I'm pretty sure if my kids found out, they'd want to go live at her house.
Rachael's kids sing songs from The Sound of Music, followed by multiple applications of the standard "Five More Minutes!" warning.
And at my house, we read a chapter of something or other and then everyone retires to their respective beds (one of which is also mine, sigh). The oldest reads a bit more on his own, the middle one listens to a kid's guided-visualization sleep CD, and the youngest will ONLY don his nightwear if I sing The Hokey-Pokey at the same time. Like I said, you do what works.
What goes on at bedtime in your house?
