A bedtime routine chart that actually helps
Many bedtime battles are about not knowing what comes next, or wanting a few more minutes of the fun bit. A short, predictable routine your child can see takes a lot of the arguing out of it.
Keep it to four or five steps
A good bedtime routine fits on one line. For most families that's something like:
- Toys away
- Bath or wash
- Pyjamas on
- Brush teeth
- Story in bed
Do the steps in the same order every night. The order matters more than the exact time.
Make the last step the nicest one
If stories come last, the routine has something to look forward to at the end. Children tend to move through the earlier steps faster when the best bit is waiting.
Count each step, not just the whole evening
If the chart only counts a "good bedtime", one wobble at the bath ruins the whole night. Giving a step for each part of the routine means a tricky start can still end well, and your child can see what they did manage.
Staying in bed is its own mission
If getting up again is the real problem, make "stayed in bed" a separate mission. It's the one mission you can't mark straight away, so make a fuss of it first thing in the morning. Getting up for the loo or after a bad dream still counts.
Ages 3 to 4 compared with 5 to 7
- Younger children do best with three or four steps, pictures rather than words, and a grown-up doing each step alongside them.
- Older children can work through the routine more on their own and enjoy having a say in the order, as long as teeth and bed stay fixed.
A reward chart that feels like an adventure
Pablo & Poppy turns your child's missions into steps along an illustrated trail, with badges on the way and a reward you choose together waiting at the end. It works on your phone or tablet, even offline.
