What is your toddlers bed time routine... in a big bed? PLEASE!!!!

[Phteven]

Time for bed (Mem Fox) is a lovely bedtime book.

[PinkPalace]

Time for bed (Mem Fox) is a lovely bedtime book.

Thanks Bron! i will be looking hard.
we have one already which she loves - not speicifically a bedtime book - but it is about finding where dorothy has fallen asleep (she is in everyones bed etc)...

but i want a specific bed time ie this is what we do book lol

[MamaPan]

yep we have another mem fox bedtime book - i think it is sleepy bears or something like that.
we also have one called bigger than daddy which DH reads to him - it ends with being tucked up in bed...
he asks for diff ones from each of us...

[~*Niadalla*~]

Dinner
Bath (every second night)
Book
Bed

He can sometimes take an hour to get to sleep because he keeps getting up, but it's really dependant on when his day sleep finished, and that's dependant on when he woke in the morning, and that's dependant on when he went to sleep the night before... and so on and so on.
Some nights, he will get outof bed and we have the hour long struggle again. Not fun.

[Catastrophic]

DD1 is 5pm start to do bath, dinner, story,
7pm - sit down and watch H&A (she usually sits on me and reads a book, or just snuggles)
730pm - have a small drink, go into bedroom, get cuddles and kisses from mummy and daddy (gotta do butterfly kisses and eskimo's kisses hehe) lay her down, turn the light of and shut the door
(that's her until morning )

This routine has been like that for agessssssssssss, she's been in a bed for over 6months.

[PinkPalace]

well i got 2 books for tonight....
one called
"being brave" - about being scared of the dark and being brave
and
"The things i love about bedtime",,,,

so fingers crossed with another day 1 of the new routine!

[Spring Angel]

We don't read books in bed. We read books in the lounge room and then DS walks off to bed, I tuck him in, he gets a kiss and I leave.

For some reason when I read to him laying down he doesn't want me to leave and will carry on. When we read on the lounge there are no such protests.

HTH
Spring x

[fionas]

Dinner around 6.30/7pm
Bed around 7.30pm
Book.

She's only been in a big bed for a few weeks and some nights is better than others. I just keep saying to her, "mummy read this book, then mummy goes" if she won't get into bed or is getting in and out. It was just too frustrating to try and keep her in bed before reading a story so now I sit down and read it by her bed regardless of whether she's in bed or somewhere else in her room. Normally she will get into bed as she can see the pictures better from there.

Sometimes it takes her 1-2 hours before she goes to sleep and we can hear her rattling around in there or singing. I leave her to it unless she's rattling the door handle or is calling for us.

[Mak]

Around the same age DD1 here got super stressed about going to bed at night. In the end we did dinner, bath, book in bed, she was tucked up and I sat and read to her. She would then proceed with all manner of distractions and would get really upset. DH and I had massive issues around it as he felt I was mishandling it and she should just 'get over it' . Anyway - we too tried all manner of techniques (some I am not too happy about either) - in the end I sat in her room and read my book (thank's to the nightlight) with my back turned to her. After her bedtime routine I told her I would sit there until she fell asleep but that she wasn't to talk to me. I think it took about half an hour the first night, was much quicker the next few and I gradually worked my way out of the room. Some nights we have to do this even now. I also spent a few minutes after the book (Time for bed - here too!!!) talking to her about how much DH and I love her - even when we are not there, and spent some time talking about all the fun things we did during the day. I included something I was really proud of her for too. A friend mentioned that she may be feeling a little insecure as she is a clingy girl and that I should try to reassure her of her place in our family etc (We had just had #2 also).
Not sure if any of this will help but can DD tell you what is wrong... we had scared of the dark, so got nightlight and leave on a hall light for her to go to sleep. She then talked about just needing me....sounds crazy but it has paid off for us here most of the time.
Take care it is so stressful - I used to be filled with dread at that time of night. xx

[PinkPalace]

we have tried the stay in the room thing - and it worked for quite a while, but then DH would get stressed because she would keep getting out of bed to see what he was doing and scream for me etc etc and so iw ould have to go in there and calm it all down.

then we tried the same routine but leave and she wouls scream the door down for 1-1.5hrs

she wont stay in her bed - doesnt matter if door is opened, closed, light on or off. She wants to lay next to us.

I know this is lovely and all but when we do lay with her she will hit us and kick us and get upset cause she wants to come downstairs and watch tv or play etc which she isnt allowed to do after dinner.

these are techniques we have tried over the past 9=10 months. it has been a long painful journey.

I end up exhausted because DH is often changing his mind on how he wants to approach it so there is no consistency, so we fight, she screams and it is 1030 and we are all stressed.