Calming Bedtime Routine for Preschoolers
This post is sponsored by The Honest Company, but all thoughts are my own.
Over the last month, we have been chatting on Instagram stories about what is working for Aimery’s bedtime routine, and what isn’t. We have made a lot of changes to our overall routine with Aimery while we are spending more time at home, especially when it comes to bedtime. When Aimery was going to school daily and we had limited time with him in the evenings, our bedtime routine with him was a long process. It was our way to connect with him after a long day and we had fun doing it! Now that it is getting warmer and he’s home with us all day, we have been changing things up to get him to bed calmly and quickly! Keep reading for five things we include in Aimery’s routine for a successful bedtime for all of us!
TAKING A CALM BATH
We always start our bedtime routine with a calming bath. We often dim the lights and create a calming environment for him, since normally he is very active right before getting ready for bed! We have found that Aimery needs time to settle and have independent play before going to bed, so he has a chance to decompress from his day of activities. We love using hair and body products with chamomile and lavender essential oils since they have been shown to have a calming effect, especially on kids! We are pretty picky when it comes to the bath products we use for Aimery since we have found that a lot of products tend to overdry his skin. We love using Honest Company's Truly Calming Shampoo + Body Wash to soothe and relax Aimery while cleansing his hair and skin. Their products are formulated to be safe for the whole family, so we will continue to use their products when baby girl makes her arrival! They are dermatologist-tested, hypoallergenic, and the value two pack that we use is exclusive for Costco Members! You can order it, here.
READING BOOKS
After bedtime, we always let Aimery choose a book that we can read together. Now that he is getting older, he has been able to read along using word recognition. We have found that allowing him to have some freedom to choose whichever book he would like allows for a much more smooth bedtime experience for both Aimery and us!
TALKING THROUGH EMOTIONS
After reading books together, we take some time to talk through the day and go through our daily emotions. We ask Aimery what made him happy, sad, angry, and calm each day. By doing this, he has learned to acknowledge which feelings he felt throughout the day and work through them together during bedtime.
POSITIVE AFFIRMATIONS
We love doing positive affirmations while getting ready for bed! We believe that positive affirmations are a great tool for kids, and help with their self-confidence while enhancing their overall well-being. We have been doing positive affirmation with Aimery for over a year, and have seen him use his positive affirmations during the day! They also allow us to remind him of how special he is. Here are some of the positive affirmations we say with Aimery every night:
I am kind
I am smart
I am brave
I am loving
I am honest
I’m a good friend
GOODNIGHT CUDDLES
The last thing we do is lots of cuddles before bed! We have found that if we lay down with Aimery for 5-10 minutes before bed, without talking, he’s less likely to be scared and need us throughout the night. Plus, it gives us some extra cuddles at the end of every day!
How have your bedtime routines changed over time? Let me know what works for your family in the comments below!