Top Tips For Keeping Your Kids in Bed For The Night

Posted on 09 27, 2006 under The Manual by Noodad | Comments

579741_the_lockWhen
your kid is big and old enough to sleep in a real bed it can be a very
exciting time as a parent. The move out of a crib can smack you right
in the face with the realization you don't have a baby anymore. But
these new walking and talking kids can create a new series of issues.
Once these kids figure out they can get out of their bed by themselves,
they morph into little Kid Ninjas: looking to sneak around, spy on you,
and worst of all…get no sleep.

Good news? There are some things you can do to keep your kids tucked in
bed for the night. Bad news? Most involve tough love and questionable
negotiation techniques—it isn't pretty and it isn't easy. But if you
can keep a consistency of nighttime compliance, you and your wife will
be happy.

EARLY DINNERS
Eating a late dinner, especially one right before bedtime is bad for
digestion and for temperaments. Try to give at least an hour between
the last bite and the moment their head hits the pillow. I know this is
a pipe dream for most (myself included). But even if this cannot be
done during the work week, try your best to meet that goal during the
weekends.

{mosnooad}WET HAIR
If you give your kids baths right before bedtime, try your best to dry
their hair before you put them to bed. Most of us guys, have never had
to deal with long hair and what it feels like to have long, wet hair.
According to my wife and daughter, it doesn't feel good. And when
something doesn't feel good, your kids will typically remove themselves
from the situation.

LAY OFF THE DESSERT
For us adults, we can get away with pounding away a dozen cookies
before bed with little ramifications to a good night sleep. But these
little bodies will react to a cookie the same way you would react to a
bag of crack. A hyper kid is not one you want at any time of day,
especially during quiet time at night.

ROUGHHOUSING CUTOFF TIME
Lately, I have been really guilty of this. I will come home and will
roughhouse with the kids right before bedtime and it will take them
extra long to wind down. Book reading is always a good thing to
institute before bedtime anyways. Reading a couple of books will surely
wind them down.

ROUTINE
Even if you are a free spirit with no regard for schedules, you will
need to change your tune for your kids. A routine (like almost
everything else that has to do with parenting) is huge. Establish a
clear bedtime and stick to it every day. When there are special
circumstances that require you to break the routine, make it clear to
the kids that it is past their bedtime.

WHEN ALL ELSE FAILS, THREATEN
Even if you do all of these things, your kids will still frequently
come out of their rooms. In rare instances, it is for a legitimate
reason. Most of the time, it is just stall tactics. Action must be
taken swiftly and consistently. We have implemented two such tactical
offensives on our daughter.

The first is that we simply do not say anything and we pick her up,
plop her back into bed, and shut the door. She hated this because she
wanted us to talk to her and tell her stories, and do other things with
her. This cold and calculated reaction to her coming out of her room
frequently worked.

The second technique we established is threatened to take away the
thing she loved the most: her blanket. Whenever we pull out this one,
we never get a repeat infraction. Be careful noodads: if you use this
technique, you have to be prepared to execute on the threat. Failure to
follow through will result in insubordination for many nights to come.

Good luck noodads.

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