Let’s talk about bedtime routines with Sky Broadband

[EllieMumsnet]

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The bedtime routine is one that we are constantly trying to perfect, whether it’s our own, our baby's, our partner’s or our teenagers’, it can feel like a bit of a battle of trying to wind down, relax and drift off into a deep sleep for the full 8 hours that’s recommended to us. Which is why Sky Broadband would like to know all about your family’s bedtime routine and how you all try to wind down.

Here’s what Sky Broadband have to say: “As part of our new Sky Broadband Boost pack, we have launched a brand new app called Sky Broadband Buddy, which gives parents the ultimate level of control over their family’s internet usage. Buddy takes parental controls to the next level with its market leading features such as being able to pause your internet and filter sites on devices on WiFi and mobile data You can even keep tabs on screen time by setting regular time limits and bedtimes.”

Do you have a family rule of no screen time an hour or so before bed? What are your teenager’s sleep routines? How do you battle with the late nights and early school mornings? How about yourself? What helps you get to sleep and what time do you go to sleep? Is it story time before bed that really help your children wind down? Or what about your partner, do you try to sync into each other's sleep routines?

Whatever your tips, tricks and experiences are of your family’s sleep routines, share them on the thread below and you’ll be entered into a prize draw where one MNer will win a £300 voucher of their choice (from a list).

Thanks and good luck with the prize draw
MNHQ

Standard Insight T&Cs Apply

[sharond101]

Now my children are passed the baby stage we have adapted our routine to suit. We have since cool down time watching a cartoon, listening to music or playing a game. Then it's bath time, story time and eyes shut time. We try to start the cool down time at least an hour before bed. We get shut eyes quicker this way.

[PennyStocks]

I think I was really lucky with bedtime battles. We had a fairly fixed routine when the children were small that could vary in terms of time (if, say, we were out late or sleeping away from home) but that stayed the same in content, which was: milk, story, kisses, bed. All of them slept in their own cot (later bed, obviously) in their own room from day 1 and they all slept through the night at 2 months (I said I was lucky!). As they got older, I never minded them getting up for water/toilet/to share forgotten news from the day, but if they got up again they were expected to go back to bed by themselves - there were no repeats of the routine.

Now that they're older, they take themselves off to bed when they're tired, which tends to fall within a range of an hour or two. We eat fairly late (never before 7pm and more often 8ish) so that makes bedtime 9-10ish. There is no screen time after dinner for kids, except in the case of a homework emergency. Adults can do what they want! We all love our sleep and sleep soundly. We get up at 7am on weekdays and it seems to be enough.

Before children, I was a real night owl. Left unregulated I would go to bed at 3am and get up late morning, though as I get older I begin to appreciate the quiet of the very early morning.

[Laurajjj561]

I have 3 boys 11 9 and 1 and they all go to bed at 8pm on a weekday and at the weekend 9pm at about 6pm they get bathed then they get to watch tv till 7.30 then brush there teeth then they can read to 8pm or I read a book then they go to bed and there usually all sleeping by 8.15 you need routine

[OrdinarySnowflake]

We're a little early on this problem, oldest DC is only 9, but we can all tablets/computer use by 7pm, as bath time is 7:30, then reading until 8:30. Youngest also has to be off screens an hour before lights out time.

We also have no screens upstairs rules, which I'm hoping to keep going as long as possible.

Sleep is so important, and they do struggle to settle down if they've had too much stimulation before bed.

[BristolMum96]

No screens half hour before bed, only quiet toys. Bath, pjs, milk, teeth brush and in bed.

[Ribeebie]

We have a bedtime routine for our baby - bath book cuddles and milk then bed. Then it's time for DH and I to relax. We often watch TV or I read and he practises his music. We try to avoid screens in the bedroom and not using our phones an hour or so before bed.

[MakeTeaNotWar]

Mine are 6 and 8. The have a bath prob every other night, watch a few cartoons before going upstairs around 8. They each have a story and the 8 year old carries on reading herself for a while. They're pretty good at going to bed and staying there

[voyager50]

The 4 B's have always worked well in our house - Brush (teeth) Bath, Book, Bed!

[pushchairprincess]

I used to battle with bed time, and after trying a sticker chart, it's pyjamas on at 7, and bed for 8, (after telling me about their day at school). for DS1 and DS2, a full sticker chart results in tea out after roller skating on Fridays. It has worked so far, but I know bed times will get later in the summer, and as they grow older. I think it's all about setting boundaries, sticking to them and rewarding good routines.

[Theimpossiblegirl]

Our routine had always been roughly the same, it's only the timings that have changed as the children get older.
Have tea, play/watch TV/whatever, tidy up, bath time, calm time (stories, cuddles, no screens) then bed.

[sarat1]

Have a 19 month old and bedtime routine hasn't really changed much since a newborn. No electronic devices on after 4pm. Dinner, play and read books, bath, boob!

[crosser62]

Shower, teeth, book and bed.
No screen time before bed.

We have always done this and it works well.
Child number one didn’t sleep, ever, child two sleeps really well and we have done the same routine with both.

No trouble sleeping for both parents though.

[StickChildNumberTwo]

Tea, bath, teeth, story, breastfeed (for the little one), bed. Sometimes with a bit of quiet TV if we've got extra time.

I on the other hand am rubbish at going to bed!

[Smilingsophie85]

We eat dinner and the. Have the same routine of book teeth and bed. Our children are 3 years and six months so still need us with them whilst they drift off to sleep but means we get to enjoy some extra cuddles!

[Treaclespongeandcustard]

Bath, book, bed is our usual routine. It lasts for an hour so they manage to stretch it out substantially. But that’s always my plan

[kateandme]

book bath and bed.id like to do what my parents did when we were younger.and i dont remember it being a problem and from what they say we werent much of a problem with sleep routines until we got older!i do think it might be more of aproblem nowadays though with the heightened need for screen time.so its something im keen to keep an eye on.
so initially the rule will be fairly fluid until i might see a problem.if they are kids to addicted to their phones i will act accordingly and there will be no phones in bed.or will turn the wifi off after say 15 minutes.
they can have tv in bed but will to be checking on that.
no screens at meals.
bath book and bed and its all done screen free.adn its a cherished time.
love to sit in front of the tv if everyting else is done in the evening before bed and its never been an issue where we 'shouldnt watch tv before bed!' that you sometimes here.
ive used apps to help me sleep.even turned on ceebeebies book at bedtime for myself.
ifind reading and spending time chattering away to the kids before bed helps you wind down aswell.
Do you have a family rule of no screen time an hour or so before bed? depends.we love tv before bed.but would keep an eye on phone usuge.deff no gaming.
What are your teenager’s sleep routines? not applicable yet but it will be no gaming before bed.they will be given a time limit.and phones will be tried to be off and on charfe somewhere else.
How do you battle with the late nights and early school mornings? have to do something to wind down before bed.even if its for a few moments reflection time.alarms!share.be prepared what you can the night before.get the kids to help out and make it seems they are doing something fun by helping!get them up with plenty of time.distraction is key to their early morning tiredness.good breakie.
How about yourself? What helps you get to sleep and what time do you go to sleep?when im tired.reading helps.some soft podcasts.
Is it story time before bed that really help your children wind down? yesOr what about your partner, do you try to sync into each other's sleep routines? it depends.with young kids i think its a lot different and you have to give and take.some days you will be shattered and want to go to bed when( or before) the children do.

[claza93]

Bath, milk and story was our routine when my children were little but this has got so much harder to enforce as they have got bigger.
We do have a device free hour before bed to help them unwind properly. My teenagers have to bring their devices down before bed as they are not allowed them in their bedrooms - this is quite hard to remember sometimes but they definitely get a better nights sleep without them in their rooms.
At the weekend we will all watch a film / tv together and have treats before bed

[NeverTwerkNaked]

We have quite a lengthy bedtime routine, it's my time to slow down and spend time with each child in turn. DD(5) reads to me and then she chooses whether we play (Lego or Barbies) or I read her a couple of bedtime stories.

DS(8) likes to be read to first, I usually read him a couple of chapters of a book. He then gets about 20-30 minutes to read to himself before it's lights out time (he would read all night if he could!)

[ipswichwitch]

We have wind down with cartoons an hour before bath and bed. I know they say you shouldn’t have screens for kids before bed, but it works to help calm DS2 down (asd). Usually they have a snack while they’re watching tv - cereal/fruit/rice cakes etc. Then it’s bath or shower and a story in bed. I read a couple of chapters to DS1, and DS2 picks a short story. Then it’s lights out for DS2, and DS1 likes the curtains open at the minute so he can watch the trees outside his bedroom window as he says it’s relaxing! Must work since he’s asleep within 5 minutes!

[BiBiBirdie]

My DCs are 12 and 10.
I have always had a very firm bedtime routine and it's worked really well.
We have a ban on phones, laptops and TV for half hour before bedtime. They also have some water in the summer or warm milk in the winter before bed, no drinks after that unless it's particularly hot.
Lights out are at the same times every night, dependent on school days or weekend. So school days they go up at 8.30,and have quiet reading until 9pm, and I come up and turn their lights out. On weekends they stay up until 9pm with quiet time until 9.30pm.
There are very clear consequences of being caught after lights out, they will lose their quiet time the next night.
Since DS has had his pS3 in his room so for about a year now, he tends not to read but he watches ASMR videos on YouTube (from a set list approved beforehand). This has worked really well for him as he can have disturbed sleep due to having health issues. But at lights out, I take the console out of his room again until morning.
It works for us. Nothing worse than tired children!

[ILiveInSalemsLot]

We have a no screens upstairs rule but I’ve relaxed that on weekends for my young teen.
On school nights, we have no individual screens after dinner but, if there’s no outstanding hw, we do all watch tv together for a bit.
Usually a documentary or an episode from a series.
I think it’s a nice way to end the day - just relaxing and chatting while watching something together.
Then it’s showers and bed where there are definitely no more screens and books instead.

[Realitea]

My DH is a real night owl and I am usually asleep by the time he goes to bed. DD who's 8, is very good at bed time, she'll usually just say 'I'm tired now I'm off to bed' and I make sure she's washed and brushed teeth and off she goes. I still do a story every night though. She likes ones I make up and they're getting sillier and sillier now. :D
To wind down, I always have a bath and do my skincare stuff, it's relaxing. I love to read a book aswell, it's comforting (well...depending on what I'm reading!)

[Fleabagging]

When my children were younger we would insist that any technology was left downstairs at bedtime. Bed was a quiet time for books and cuddles. Now they are older teenagers, I’m afraid they are left to their own devices, and often go to bed after me..! I try not to look at Ipads, phones etc in bed, it’s a chance to read a book and listen to radio 4s ‘book at bedtime’ for me.

[backfarblackcar]

Pretty simple in our house. Pyjamas, teeth, stories and reading books then bed and lights out. Getting through those simple steps does take about an hour though!
When it's bath time then it'll take a little longer but thats not usually every night.
The winding down comes with the stories as they're usually still pretty loud and wriggly getting into pjs and brushing teeth.

[Asuwere]

We tend to do bath, book then bed which works but it varies depending on activites/clubs. Sometimes they get screen time just before bed; sometimes we'll read an ebook or even play a game together on the tablet rather than just reading a book. Doesn't seem to effect sleep either way.