Many parents find trying to get their child to bed at night to be one big struggle. The child may play up, whinge and even cry. When in bed, the child may then repeatedly keep getting out of bed and coming downstairs. This article gives advice on how to successfully get your child into bed at night, without all of this fuss.

Some children even though they know that they are tired, do not want to miss out on any of the action or excitement. They want to spend as much time with mom and dad as possible. They can even see the fact that they have to go to bed before their parents as unjust and even cruel. These types of children will want to disrupt and even avoid going to bed at all cost.

I myself have two young children and have been through this experience myself. My daughter especially needs her sleep and can be very moody in the mornings, if she has not had a particular amount of hours of it. As a parent it can become very frustrating as well as upsetting when you see your child crying because they do not want to go to bed. Comments like, please dad just one more program on the television, were far too regular, and at times I felt like backing down.

I have now learnt via reading many books on parenting, how to best deal with this situation. Each child now has a set time when they have to be in bed by. This is a time that they have both agreed to!

They get changed into their pyjamas around half an hour before this time, and then can either spend that period of time playing with their toys or watching the television. If they want to play, we ensure that the games are relaxing ones and not too energetic.

If there is a program that is on later than their agreed bedtimes, I agree to video it for them, this way they know that they are not missing out etc.

I have agreed that I will read them a story at bedtime. This is something they both love and helps them to wind down and relax. They are also given a drink to go to bed with, therefore there is no need for them to keep coming downstairs. This drink is always a juice and should not be fizzy.

I have explained to each child the importance of sleep and that it should be something to enjoy and not to see as some sort of punishment. I have even gone as far as saying that I would love to go to bed at the time that they do, unfortunately their mother does not allow it.

I have tried to make their bedrooms their own little palace. A place that they want to spend time, a place which they find fun, relaxing and comfortable.

My son likes to hear music and therefore we play a tape of his favourite songs in his room. The volume is set quite low and this certainly helps him to get to sleep quite quickly.

These tips have helped to make our childrens bedtimes a pleasant experience, where it once was quite fraught. The children themselves are now into a routine, a routine they are happy with. I hope this advice proves useful to you as well. Good luck.

Is the after-school, after-work routine creating a crazy, chaotic home life for your family? Will all the end-of-the-day pressures that descend on the typical family these days, it’s no wonder parents feel frazzled and out-of-control.

I’ve been parenting for over 2 decades and have 4 busy children. Here are my top 3 parenting tips for putting the calm back into your family’s evening routine.

1. Plan it out.

Sometimes chaos comes from everyone needing to unwind at once. Of course, your kids have very little maturity to deal with the fatigue and over-stimulation that comes with a typical day. As the parent, you have to be willing to delay your own need for calm and get the rest of the troops in line first. When your family has a sense of order and control, you’ll feel much calmer, too.

Start with planning out what needs to happen in your evening. Baths, homework, dinner, sports activities all need to be written down. If you attempt to do laundry or cleaning in the evening, write that down, too.

Next write down the amount of time each of those items takes to do (be honest and reasonable). Now add up the times and compare the total to what time you actually have between the hours of after-work and bedtime.

If you’re like many families, something’s gotta give! This simple exercise will help you see why you are frustrated day in and day out. This is where the rubber meets the road; to have a calmer household you’ll need to make the activities you desire fit into your schedule. This often means cutting something out!

Trust me, you’ll never miss whatever you let go of. Take back the time to actually hug and communicate with your children by giving up the activities that don’t directly contribute to family growth. For example, a lot of great conversations can be had between parents and children while cleaning a bathroom. And let’s face it, cleaning bathrooms has to happen!

But usually very little communication can happen between you and your child while they’re on the sports field. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve done plenty of sports over the years and know how great they can be for teaching all types of values. But if your family is reeling in chaos each evening, you’re looking for soothing parenting tips, not high-achievement ideas.

2. Streamline and get organized.

Everyday activities like meal-planning can either produce joy or chaos in a family’s day. Do you have to spend time each evening deciding what’s for dinner, scrounging for ingredients and feeling resentful you have to give up so much time to something you don’t want to do?

Or do you just give in most evenings and either eat out or use take-out food? This is fine if it’s in your budget, but if it’s not, you are simply increasing your stress load which will inevitably spill over into your family time.

There are many effective menu-planning tools available today that can cut your time in the kitchen. Honestly, a smart parenting tip is to help you see that involving your kids in the evening meal routine is one of the easiest ways to add calm to a family.

Depending upon their ages, children can help

– plan the meals.

– shop for the meals, understanding both budgetary and nutritional concerns.

– set the table and help with the clean-up.

– cook the meals with supervision.

The same goes for laundry and cleaning duties, too. If one evening is laundry and cleaning night, then everyone pitches in and that’s the night for pizza. You’ll feel less scattered when the whole family is pulling together.

Of course, these tasks will all go much faster once everyone is trained, practiced and comes to expect that family involvement is a part of the evening agenda.

3. Establish routines.

I’m sure you’ve heard parenting tips like this one before and for good reason. Unfinished homework, lost supplies, missing articles of clothing, and forgotten lunches just add to the chaos level in any home. So abolish them! Establish a place for each family member’s daily stuff (just a basket or bin will do nicely) and remind daily to use them until habits are established.

Hey, you’re going to have to be serious about this one, Mom or Dad. My kids know I would even call them home from their friends’ houses simply to have them pick something up they neglected to put away in the right place before they went off to have fun.

Over the top? Not when you remember your job as a parent is to teach the types of habits that will produce appropriate adult behavior someday. Trust me, you’ll only have to do these kinds of ‘reminders’ a handful of times. Your kids are very bright. They’ll get the message extremely quickly.

Make a game with your kids about developing routines.

– Who can figure out the smartest way to put together a lunch box station in the kitchen?

– Who sets down to do their homework first, with no complaining?

– Set a timer and see who can get their stuff ready for the next day the fastest.

– Give little prizes for shaving off time in doing everyday duties.

Set the rule that everyone in the household does work before play. You’ll be amazed at the change in your home’s stress levels. One step at a time.

Parenting tips come and go, but the basics in what a family needs don’t change. If you’re looking to calm down the evenings in your home, take a few minutes to plan out what’s important to you, streamline your processes, and establish routines that save time and sanity.

And your reward? How about a quiet time before bed?