Please talk me through your 6 yo and/or 10 yo bedtime routine...

[Acunningruse]

...because ours isn't working for anyone 😩

To be honest, we haven't massively changed the bedtime routine since they were little 😳, but its getting to the stage now where I feel like it should be getting easier as they are getting older, but it still seems to be taking 2 hours a night with endless cajoling and chivvying from either me or DH (we alternate nights).

Currently:
7pm - 6yo goes upstairs (reluctantly) and gets in bath while me/DH wash her hair etc and potter upstairs putting washing away etc. repeated reminders to hurry up, get out of bath, put pjs on etc. lots of messing about often resulting in no bedtime playtime (usually we play with barbies before stories)

7:30 10yo goes upstairs and gets in bath or shower. Fairly self sufficient but will need reminders to get out otherwise would be in there all night

7:30 -8 bedtime play and stories (inc her reading book from school) with 6yo

8-8:30 - stories with 10yo. Tbh this is a lovely part of the day and I wouldn't want to lose it as if he's worried about anything this is the time he will tell me, the problem is by the time we get to 8pm I'm so bloody shattered (both WFT) to enjoy it.

What does your bedtime routine look like? How can we streamline it to encourage them to do more for themsleves?

TIA

Actually if its relevant, both are nearly 7 and nearly 11! Hence me thinking, this has got to change.

DS6 is turning 7 next month and we’ve also always had the same bedtime routine.

He showers before dinner, then he’s allowed screen time while I put the baby down. He goes upstairs around 6-6.30pm, teeth, picks a book. Then he listens to his radio (my dad got it for him and he uses it everyday. It’s called Lunii and specifically designed for bedtime. You buy stories and download them).

So yeah he listens to his radio until he’s ready to sleep. Sometimes he forgets to turn it off but it turns itself off after a while. He’s up around 6am in the mornings at the moment- can be earlier.

Have dinner 8-9pm, brush teeth, in bed by 9:30, read if they want, lights out by 10. Bath/shower only if they needed it.

To be fair, we're a 2-minute walk from school and work from home, so we didn't need to be up at 6:30 and use breakfast clubs etc.

School finishes at 4:30, extra curriculars twice a week until around 7:30/8, or running around the park until it's dark if no extra curricular on. No homework given, but we'd do a bit of maths or reading, do some art.