3 Ideas to Make Bedtime Fun for You and the Kids

3 Ideas to Make Bedtime Fun for You and the Kids

Parents know all too well how bedtime can be a struggle. Getting the kids ready for bed and actually getting them to calm down enough to sleep can be quite a challenge at times. If you are reading this article, you are probably searching for a solution to the bedtime struggles you face yourself.

Worry not, because there are actually a lot of things you can do to make bedtime fun for you and the kids. The more you can get your children to love the rituals of going to bed, the easier bedtime will be for the family. These three ideas will help you get started right away.

• Dial Down on the Excitement

One of the things you can try to make the whole bedtime debacle more manageable is managing the children’s activities in the evening. You want to slowly bring their excitement level down so that they can get ready for bed easier.

Instead of video games, get the kids involved in some (calming) DIY crafts. Rather than letting them run around the house, engage them in activities that are more relaxing, such as drawing or playing with Legos.

Calmer, lower-energy activities will help bring their excitement level down. This makes the transition from playing or doing other things to bedtime easier for the kids; that abrupt transition is often why your kids don’t want to go to bed in the first place.

You also want to unplug your children from their devices a few hours before bedtime. A study published in Pediatrics back in 2017 revealed that the blue light emitted by screens influences children more than it does adults, mainly because the kids’ eyes and brains are still developing. This trick alone can make bedtime problem-free.

• A Room to Love

Creating bedrooms that the children truly love is another way you can reduce — or eliminate — bedtime struggles. You have many options in this department too.

Adding fun kids quilt covers is a good start. Children are more likely to go to bed when they see the colours they love or cartoon characters they adore on their quilt covers. You can add additional touches to the bed as well, including some extra pillows to keep the kids comfortable.

Lights work really well in this situation. By adding a 3D moon table lamp or the Playgro Goodnight Bear Light Projector along with the right bedtime routine, you can get the kids excited about going to bed whenever they see certain lights coming from their room. 

Wall art in their bedroom theme, such as football art, animal pictures, quotes, or even colourful murals such as rainbows, can also help ease bedtime struggles and make your child more likely to want to head to bed.

• Bedroom Routines

One last trick you can try immediately is to spend more time with the kids in their bedroom. Yes, it is as simple as you think. All you need to do is share stories about the exciting things you experienced that day and ask the kids to do the same, all while cuddling on their beds, all ready to go to sleep.

Make this particular routine fun for them too. You can read a story after cuddling with them for a while. You can also listen to the things that bother the kids and help them deal with any problem they may have. The goal is to make the kids as calm as possible; to make them feel secure in your arms.

There is something about spending time with parents — genuine time where they have all of your attention — that calms children down. Don’t forget to get your spouse involved in this routine too.

You’ll be surprised by how problem-free bedtime can be with these simple ideas and fun things to do added to the kids’ bedtime routine. That’s the last secret to keep in mind: make it a routine, and bedtime will get easier by the day.

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