Bedtime routines for 3 year olds, wd appreciate hearing yours

[choosyfloosy]

Right! As from today I am imposing a New Order at bedtime. I've got 3 weeks on my own with dh away for work, and there is no sh*gging way I'm keeping on with the dh-style 70s-hippy-free parenting-permissive-chattering class style endless bloody bedtime finishing at 10.30. I want ds asleep at 8 and I don't care what it takes.

However, I'm also very aware that ds is now 3 and isn't the same little cutie any more - he's becoming more and more of a person all the time, and I'm not quite sure what techniques and routines are reasonable at this age. Can you tell me what you do and when?

I've only got ds so no need to adapt to other children. tIA

Didn't get through all the posts, but exactly the same as Lizzylou's practically down to the minute - which is a bit scary. Ds knows that he does not get out of bed once in it which works...most of the time. (He's almost 3). dd is also pretty good and settles down well. I'm not sure I agree with doing it too gradually - if he's been going to bed at 10.30pm surely he's a bit sleep deprived and would probably be pleased to go to bed a bit earlier! Or maybe not

I think basically you have to look at where you want to be, do it and stick to it.

If DS tries to deviate from his bedtime routine he gets a counting ('disciplining' tool of the moment) threat (going through with it if necessary) and we carry on.

We stick to the routine whatever time it is, although maybe a bit more rushed.

We dont have a bath every day either but that is something we have done from him being a baby so no problem.

I am surprised at how many of you go back downstairs. Our routine is fairly brief.

6.55 - tidy up
7.00 - run bath while they get themselves undressed and then into bath
7.15 - out of bath and dry, pjs and teeth
7.20 - stories (DH and I take it in turns to do DS and DD, if one of us is out, then it is DD and then DS)
7.30 lights out

This is for a nearly 6yo and a 2 1/2 yo.

I have ds who is 6,then 2 dd's one is 4 the other 2(3 soon)
They have tidy up time at 4:45.
5-5:30-is t.v. time while I prepare their dinner.
5:30-dinnertime
6-bathtime
6:20-out of bath,pyjamas on.
6:30-they all have a cup of warm milk,then brush teeth.
6:45-they all go into dd2 bedroom and we read a story together.
7pm-lights out for dd2 and the other 2 get into their own beds and 'read' by themselves for 15min.
7:15-lights out for the older ones.
They are all aseep by 7:30 at the latest.As they have to be up for school run for the 2 oldest by 7:15/7:30 I like to make sure they have 11hr30-12hrs sleep a night

bozza, our bathroom is downstairs which can complicate things slightly - possibly others too?

second night, bath ok -ish, bed phase hellish! but we stuck to the routine and made it without caving, mostly. God ds biting hurts. asleep 9.45pm.

Well done Choosy - stick with it. It might naturally reduce by 15 mins each night.

GinnedUpMummy - with you there - cheers!

We have a downstairs bathroom. But I bath/shower dd in the mornings not the evenings, unless she is particularly grubby. Our routine is tea at 6, bit of bedtime hour on CBeebies, wash/teeth/PJs at 7, upstairs for a story or 2, bed. The nights when she won't go to sleep is when she's overtired.

Our evenings usually go something like this:

5.30pm Dinner
6.00pm Bit of bedtime Cbeebies or something equally inoffensive and not too excitable.
6.30pm Toilet, teeth & leisurely bath and sometimes hairwash
7.00pm Allowed to go downstairs to kiss Daddy & big Sis goodnight (she always comes straight back up because it's story-time)
Let her pick her own story and read it lying in bed - I always lie beside her for the story. Lights out, kiss and same mantra - "Goodnight, sweet dreams, love you very, very loadsa much. Have a lovely sleep, Precious Angel. See you in the morning" She knows what I will say, and if I leave off the end bit she says it for me. It seems to re-assure her that it is always the same. Like a full stop to the end of the day.

day 3! (this is turning into a blog. sorry it's so dull for others but that's blogs for you I suppose).

ds crashed at 5.30 and I plonked him into bed with a nappy. 7.30 he woke up. So moved the whole routine to 9pm and it worked like a dream - NO FIGHTS at all and there is now blissful silence from upstairs. same sleep time as last night in about 1/3 of the time! Yay school!

dh is planning to come back for Saturday night and i might even volunteer for yet another bedtime just to prevent this being mucked up. But maybe, just maybe, we are starting to break through.

WOW, well done - that seemed just too easy, didn't it?!?

I think if I was you I might be tempted to carry on on your own for a few days, so he settles into it before dh takes over, but depends how you think he's doing...

(Our bathroom's downstairs too - we just make sure that he goes STRAIGHT from bathroom upstairs, pausing only for kisses )