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

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My children are 2 and 5. We always have story time before bed

Mine are quite old now so do bathroom routines by themselves, wash and teeth with mouthwash each night, then pyjamas and after a night text from her boyfriend her phone is taken away we chat about the day and how she is feeling then lights out

No screens/devices allowed 45 mins before bedtime!

No screens for an hour before bed in our house. Mine both have a wash and clean teeth before bed - both have showers every morning. My youngest still likes a story before bed, whereas my oldest will sometimes choose to read, or just go straight to bed.

Now that our children are older, we might watch a bit of telly together until 20:00. Then they get changed into their bed things (and brush their teeth), and relax with a book until 20:30. And then its lights out.

My 4 year old has a routine of dinner, bath, story and bed at 7.30pm. My two boys share a room and my 13 year old normally goes to bed later than my 9 year old, much to my 9 year old's disgust! They have to be off their devices/phones at 7pm, and my 9 year old's bedtime routine is spellings, readings then bed at 8.30pm. My 13 year old son likes to watch Eastenders with me (!) then he goes to bed around 9pm.

We get ready for bed, brush our teeth, have storytime and a kiss goodnight

The routine has varied depending on their age and needs. We have several DCs. When babies and toddlers it was bath , milk, story, and bed by 7pm. School age DCs get no screen and tech until homework complete and then told to switch off an hour before bed. Older teenagers or working DCs are left to make their own choices, as long as they do not keep the rest of the house wakened!

We’re a bit more free and easy than some, I think. We bath them maybe three times a week, not every night. The only thing that is sacrosanct is that we read to them. We tend to discuss the highlights of the day with the older one, I ask her what her favourite parts of the day were, so she goes to bed with a positive frame of mind.

the half hour before bedtime we spend winding down , no tv's or electronic games . After shower and tooth brushing we then have a story while she settles into to bed

Touch wood .. so far night times are relatively stress free with toys being tidied away about an hour before bed time with some relaxing TV time, bath time and then supper, then a mad race upstairs.. I always come last and a story to round off the day.

Everynight our routine starts at the same time. We have a bath, iPad time for half hour, book, bottle and bed. My little girl is normally asleep within 20 minutes.

Usually, tea, and a cartoon then a bath, straight into a dimmly lit bedroom, under the cover and a quick story.

I worry I am to strict.
They do their teeth and get their PJs on, They have 30 mins chill time, then toilet and bed.

I have a 20 month old and a 4 month old...
I settle the 4 month old first. I give him lots of cuddles and sing a good night song to him. I then give him a bottle and gently rock him so he's relaxed. Once he is relaxed enough I put him in his crib and pat his bum for a minute and then leave him. He then goes to sleep on his own within a minute or two.
With my 20 month old I get her undressed (sometimes we have a bath but she gets so excited in a bath i tend to bath her in the mornings). Once she's brushed her teeth I read her a bedtime story (or two) and then sing her a goodnight song. I put her in her cot with her snuggys and dummy. I also put ewan the sheep on and some lights that project stars onto the ceiling for 10 mins. I leave her room and she's asleep within 15mins.

My teenager has a ridiculously fast metabolism so a nice carb heavy snack like a bowl of cereal or plate of toast about 45 mins before he goes to bed really helps him. Otherwise he's back downstairs within an hour saying he's hungry!

I'm really lucky with bed times, my two have always loved going to bed. From a really young age I have encouraged them to go to bed awake, lie down and they fall asleep. When they were babies I would do bath, story and put down at a decent hour. They like to watch a bit if TV or play on the tablet for a little bit before bed, but once I say bath, they start the bedtime routine and get into bed. It's very rare if they come downstairs, but my husband is another matter he is rubbish at getting to sleep.

Eldest DD is only 1 so her bedtime routine is, tea time at 5pm bath at 6pm then play or facetime Nana in Newcastle till 7pm. Then we get her into her sleeping bag, we say goodnight love you and off to bed. This took a while for her to actually start settling herself once in her cot, but it works well now. I like the structered bed routine, as it means I can spend 1 to 1 time with DD2 who is 2 months old.

We have always implemented a no screen time for at least two hours before bed. The rest is pretty simple, bath, teeth and then they can read before they go to sleep.

Blackout blinds are a good investment, particularly in the summer months when its light til 10, and as early as 4, so I have invested in those for my son, and blackout linings for my daughter. I have the sky kids app to limit the amount of screen time they have before bed and to control of how much television they can watch and when they should be switching off. There is a 5 minute warning before bedtime and they need to go to bed, (we love the animation and sleepy faces). Having this sets a routine, and gives some wind down time, along with dark bedrooms and a soothing nightlight most of the time gives us a hassle free bed time.

Bath, teeth, bedtime story. No TV for at least an hour beforehand

My three year old has a bath, has her hair dryed while watching a bit of youtube (she has really long hair and its the only way to keep her quiet) then gets her pjs on and chooses her stories for us to read. She always wants loads of stories but i try and limit it to two from me and two from Daddy or we would be there all night. She is going through a phase where she hates going to bed so it can be a bit difficult at the moment. She often stays awake a while after we have left her, reading her stories and singing!

We try to stick to a very strict routine. We have shower/bath time followed by sories together and then bed. Any deviation usually results in poor sleep!

Bedtime at our house it’s always been the same for many years and have always worked well.
It starts with dinner and then bath, brushing teeth, pyjamas and to finish story book.

Bed time routine is difficult for my child, as he has special needs, we normally have a 5min chat, kiss and cuddle before I leave him in bed, then it will take several hours for him to settle, he normally needs me to sleep with him.