5 Tips for a Stress-Free Bedtime

[@searose6192]

One thing that is often overlooked I think, is the effect of seasonal changes on all of our bodies and the amount of sleep our bodies want and need in mid summer vs midwinter (especially in more northern climes) My children naturally adjust to the season, staying up later in summer when the sun is still shining late, and going to bed earlier in the colder, darker winter months when it is dark by 3:30 pm. I think it is very healthy to allow their bodies to set a natural rhythm rather than imposing a man made artificial rhythm and construct of time. Nature knows best.

[@clarke38]

We’re doing all of this except for bumping everything up earlier and we’re going to try this next, thank you!

[@pizzaperson1]

This a lovely routine. My daughter is really “hyper” at bed time. She is refuses to sleep, and cries that she is not tired and still playful. We are at the heart of summer here in New Zealand, so it is day light until 10pm. I will definitely try a few of those advice! Thank you for your lovely video!

[@Marcmv329]

Can you get black out shades? It really helps my four-year-old (since birth) having blackout shade in his room when it’s time to sleep. If I don’t get my son in bed early he gets when I called sleepy mania, really hyper, but I could tell he’s just over exhausted. The brain releases a hormone that does that when over tired

[@katepearlzorn7275]

I have a hyper 3yo and one thing we have done is start doing about 15 minutes of one on one play in his room - we pretend with blankets, pillows and stuffed animals, make stories with them and it really helps to connect and get some big body energy out before sleep

[@dinarobbins4799]

We have been doing all of these things (except water bottle) for the past month or maybe a bit more, and feeling so peaceful and connected as a family at bedtime! These are great suggestions! Thank you!

[@piedadgoulet3499]

I've been trying to get my 9 month old to sleep through the night. The day that I allowed for an abundance of time for our bed-time routine, everything magically fell into place and he just started sleeping through the night. Sticking to that routine of winding down is so important, but it won't work unless you have set aside lots of time for it!

[@searose6192]

I am about to give birth to child #5 and we have never had stressful bedtimes with any of our kids. How? I breastfeed my children from birth well into toddlerhood and co-sleep with them. We never had an externally enforced bedtime, but rather allow our children to sleep when they feel tired. Since they have ONLY POSITIVE associations with bedtime and sleep they happily settle into bedtime mode on their own and let everyone know they are ready for bed. This quickly settles into a natural rhythm early in their first year. The result is that by their first birthday (an onwards) they have a consistent bedtime driven entirely by their internal sense of time. Also it is different in the winter vs the summer.

[@hillaryenloe]

Thank you for sharing your time and wisdom. We are transitioning to a new bedtime routine as we have officially phased out of an afternoon nap at age 4. This was really helpful, I will be sharing it! 😊

[@Marcmv329]

Thank you for this great video. I’m sharing with my family and friends that have little ones and have struggled with bedtime. I definitely have struggled with my son’s bedtime and I realize that most of the time that I struggled with that was when I put him to bed later, or we over planned during the day, so he’s overwhelmed and overtired. I noticed when he is beyond tired he gets hyper and it makes it harder for him to settle down. Sticking to routine is important even though it’s hard at times. It’s nice to have adult time too :D

[@searose6192]

Also “early to bed, early to rise” are truly words to live by. Children sleep better and wake more rested when they don’t wallow around snoozing late into the morning. Toddlers seem to need between 10-12 hours of sleep. If they don’t get up until 9 or 10 putting them to bed at 7 or 8 is going to darn near impossible ( with some exception for kids who really seem to need much more sleep)

[@colleenfinley4033]

I watched this a few days ago, and it really helped us fine tune our bedtime. Thank you!

[@sarahkaminsky7720]

I really like the idea of lighting a candle, and the hot water bottle looks very cuddly. I'm thinking I may try to incorporate the candle ritual into our bedtime tomorrow.

[@poooodfly]

What a great Video! Thank you Sarah :) I'm always looking foreward to your "Sunday with Sarah"! I have two sons (3,5 years and 7 months) and with our oldest we like to review the day together and talk about what is happening tomorrow and than i sing a lullaby :). My husband in the other hand likes to improvise animal adventure/friendship stories :) It has taken some time until de found out what was best, but that combo seems to go well for all of us :) Greetings form Switzerland

[@ArtwithSabrina]

This was excellent , thank you so much!

[@kateblake6584]

I bedshare with my 3.5 year old twins. Their bedtime is 7, but occasionally they're ready before then and if we wait until 7 they hit their second wind and it becomes difficult to get them to relax. I find that watching their cues, and making sure they're in bed no later than 7 helps immensely. If I can't stay and lie with them after getting them settled, I put a sleep story on the calm app on my phone and they're always asleep before the end. We don't do the water bottle, but they have a warm body to snuggle up with which helps a ton!

[@katepearlzorn7275]

Those sleep stories are the best! I'm so glad I found them

[@bronazlin4955]

Thank you for your valuable knowledge my friend 🤗

[@katarzynate744]

Thank you for the video Sarah - we have two daughters two and seven. Your vlog might maybe help us. Our daughter is hyperactive - bedtimes are real struggle.

[@Marcmv329]

She might be over tired. Mine gets like that too.

[@trturner13]

Very nice vlog. Love the addition of candlelight and essential oils for massage. Thank You.

[@luluray3148]

Wonderful video with such sweet bedtime ideas. Thank you!!

[@ganirintiniano]

A mi linzichu le encantan tus videos! Gracias por los consejos!!!

[@LoveRachelXOXOXO]

It can be hard as my husband and I both work full time and we have two young children. What’s funny is that when bedtime goes well, it when we incorporate the ideas you mentioned. (Massage, warm bean bag animal, early dinner)

[@RH-iq3wz]

a warm bean bag animal is one of the best ideas I've heard - going to give this a try!!

[@camille2655]

These are great tips!

[@PlayActivitiesWithMama]

Great tips Sarah! Thank you, we've been singing the same song since she was a baby. :-)

[@Marcmv329]

Which song? My child loves hush little baby

[@this_weird_english]

Thank you for video)) we also use weleda lavender oil. It's great!!

[@lauradanner2158]

If you have multiple children, which parts do you suggest doing together versus individually with just one child? We have a 7 and 3 yr old sharing a room at the moment...

[@Marcmv329]

I want to know the answer to this! I have a 4 year old but planning on having a second one next year.

[@rachaelgibney8444]

I love your videos and way of thinking. I have been doing a bedtime routine with my son since he was about a month old, he is 8 months now. We have many similar aspects in our routine, dinner, clean up, bath and brush his gums (no teeth yet), I found a book before I even got pregnant called “Loving Hands” that details an Indian baby massage that I love, so I’ve been giving him the massage with calendula oil after his bath and before PJs, at this age he squirms and try’s to crawl and play while I’m massaging him, he’s not interested at all and sometimes pushes to get away, do you think it’s best to keep doing it every night even though he doesn’t like it at this age? Also, I was wondering if there was some kind of benefit or reason there is gold in your lotion. After pjs I warm up his bottle and read him a story while he drinks it. He doesn’t have any teach yet, though I know my dentist doesn’t want a bottle at bedtime after teeth have been brushed. I’m sure his teeth will be coming in soon so I’ve been slowly mixing increasing amounts of chamomile tea into his bottle. I’m hoping by the time he has his first tooth we will have transitioned to a bottle of plain chamomile or mint tea at bedtime rather than the milk. He is usually falling asleep by the end of his bottle and then I pick him up and put him in his crib. I love the candle and lullaby ideas. Thank you so much!

[@mayoca2024]

Do people really manage this routine? If my daughter sleep at 7 she wakes up at 10 or 12pm

[@katepearlzorn7275]

I have a 3yo and he will sleep 6pm to 6am, but he does wake at around 10 or 11 and comes to bed with us. It feels wild to put him to bed so early but he'll get up an 6 (or earlier) anyway so I just went with it and it's working pretty well.

[@mycrazyfamilyid]

7 pm bedtime?! If my kids went to bed that early they'd get up at 4 am! They eat healthy food and play all day, no naps, and go go go until 11 pm. 😵😵😵

[@c.e.9280]

Great video. Suprised you have a tattoo 😮

[@jamieroberts9174]

And what about an adult?? Because sometimes for me is very difficult to sleep, my only solution is to use CBD oils, they make my life easier

[@Marcmv329]

Oh good one! I want to know the answer too :D

[@magicmamashauna]

7 oclock at any age?