How to Plan a Stress-Free Bedtime for Your Children

The toddler who refuses to go to bed is a very common problem.
This often coincides with the arrival of a new baby. In my experience, the main reason that this happens is because the mother does not anticipate how much longer everything will take trying to settle two children. What used to be a calm and happy event often begins to resemble a battleground as an exhausted mother tries to cope with both the toddler and the baby screaming. Obviously the baby's needs and crying has to be attended to first, which means the toddler has even more time to become frustrated and overtired. By the time the baby is settled, the toddler has become so overtired that it can take hours to settle him.

The following guidelines give suggestions on how to plan and prepare a stress-free bedtime for two children, or a toddler who is difficult to settle. - Try to ensure that your toddler has his main protein meal of the day at lunch-time. This means that tea can be something quick and easy to prepare, like pasta or a thick soup with sandwiches.
- As the children are waking up from their midday nap, lay out everything that is needed for the bath and bedtime. Towels, cotton wool, flannels, nightwear, nappies, bibs, muslins etc, should all be put in the places where they are to be used.
- During the afternoon do not allow your toddler to keep taking different toys out of the cupboard, if he has not tidied away the ones he has finished with.

Encourage him to tidy away all or at least some of his toys.

- Tea should be ready and your toddler seated at 5pm sharp, so that you can sit down and feed the baby at the same time as your toddler is eating his tea. - Both children should be taken upstairs no later than 5.
45pm, to allow plenty of time for the bath, and for winding down.
- Try to have both children bathed and dressed by 6.
15pm to allow enough time for the baby to take the second half of his feed.
Do not allow your toddler to start drinking his milk until you are all settled and ready to watch a video or read a story, while the baby is feeding.

Hopefully your toddler will be occupied by drinking his milk and watching the video long enough to allow you to finish feeding the baby. - Even if the baby does not look tired, settle him in his cot. Dim the lights and prop a small book or mirror down the side of the cot.
If this habit is established early enough most babies will learn to settle quickly and easily on their own.
- In the early days most babies will be asleep by 6.30-6.
45pm, which should allow you enough time to settle the toddler with his night-time story before he becomes overtired.