A Nightly Routine That ACTUALLY Works for Toddlers

Ok, let’s face it. Being a mom to a toddler-sauras Rex can be tough.

There is a reason for the dinosaur reference. This is how our nights usually go

Me: it’s time for bed

Toddler: (RAWR)

Me: Let’s get you into you pajamas

Toddler: (RAWR)

….and next thing you know he’s pushing back on everything that I ask him, my 10-month-old daughter is woken up and crying. Everyone is overwhelmed, a few hours have passed by, and now it’s almost midnight. I realized how unorganized and overwhelming our evenings can be and needed to figure out something soon. I pulled up the Notes app on my phone and typed out everything that usually happens before bedtime and included the timeframe. I also wrote down what is needed in order to get my kids in bedtime mode. I tested out different routines for a week. This included determining if the kids needed a bath first vs brushing their teeth and then taking a bath, using Amazon Echo to find classical or meditation music that played for a few hours, and getting stuffed animals and fuzzy blankets available to grab. Figuring out the order and time of our new routine that would work. FINALLY!!! One day I created a routine that would work for my kids. A 4-year-old and an 11-month-old. That’s right!!! It even worked for my infant daughter. After 3 months into our new routine, it still works.

I like to use the Echo Show 8 to help with our routine. I will explain this below

6:45 PM: Bedtime Warning

15 minutes before we begin our bedtime routine an announcement is made on our Echo Show 8 device. It announces “It is almost time to get ready for bed”. When this announcement is made my son knows that it is almost time to get ready for bed.

7:00 PM: Bedtime Routine Begins

It’s officially time to begin our routine. I like to start the kids off with a warm bath. Adding a few sprits of Johnson’s Bedtime Bubbles

7:20 PM: Brush and Lather

After a super relaxing bath, it is time to brush those pearly whites and lather up with lavender bedtime lotion.

7:45 PM: Storytime

Once the kids are nicely tucked in bed and my daughter with a bottle in hand, it is time to read a story.

Our current favorites include:

8:00 PM: Lights Off, Nightlight On, Que Music

It’s time to shut off the light and turn on the night light (red ambient works best). Lastly, “Alexa, play meditation music”

Typically, within 20-30 minutes both kids are fast asleep and this momma gets to have a bit of quiet time before completing my nightly routine. (COMING SOON)