Phee has been having a really hard time sleeping over the last few months. She was sick for about six weeks earlier this year and then we were on vacation where she slept with me the entire time. Some combination of events and a family history of bad sleep made for a miserable couple months for all of us.
When it got so bad that the poor kid was a disaster during the day, we finally went to the doctor who suggested we address it behaviorally first since that's the least invasive and easiest thing to try. After a long discussion of ideas, schedules, etc, we left the office and I started to make a plan for tackling bedtime.
Phee likes to have things spelled out for her. If you give her a heads up before something happens or changes, she is able to deal with it much more calmly and easily. Taking that into account, I created a simple sleep chart and reward system.
The chart has a cute clip art picture of a girl sleeping in her big girl bed. There are ten boxes below that. For each night that she has a good bedtime (no fighting, time outs, getting out of bed multiple times, etc) she gets a fun sticker to put on the chart. When she fills the ten boxes, she gets to pick out a new book.
We combined the chart with a very specific bedtime routine and moving to a twin size bed. So far, it's worked like a charm! She just picked out her first book this week. It took her two weeks to get it, instead of the ten days, but the time frame wasn't important. The positive reinforcement is great. She doesn't lose anything for having a bad bedtime, she just has the opportunity to try again the next night.
I created a visual bedtime routine that hangs on the wall next to the sleep chart. Phee can refer to it each night to keep herself on task during bedtime. The structure is helping her achieve a better bedtime and better sleep. I know that the reward system is helping because she will excitedly tell you about it and her new book.
We're now working on a morning routine, too. Phee will be starting a new school in the fall and that will change our mornings a little bit. In an effort to make that easier for all of us, we're starting to work on the mornings now so that we can tweak where needed and be ready to go once school starts.
If you'd like to try the sleep chart, here is a PDF version. You can also give the bedtime routine and the morning routine a try. Obviously what you and your kids need in a routine is different from what we need so these printed sheets won't work for everyone. But, if you do give these a try, I hope they are a positive success for your little one, too!
(The routines are available as PDFs. I have them as Microsoft Publisher files, also, but that isn't a program that lots of people have. If you do have Publisher and would like the file, please contact me and I'd be happy to send it to you so that you can edit the schedule to suit your own needs.)
Have you found some other great ways to get your kids involved in their own routines?
Have you found some other great ways to get your kids involved in their own routines?