5 Essential Steps For Successful Toddler Bedtime
Bedtime with toddlers can be rough sometimes. When I think of life from my kids eyes, I can see why bedtime can be frustrating for them. As a mom, I think I assume my kids understand what is coming next, but when I stop them from playing and announce bedtime, they always seemed shocked! Having a set routine that we follow every night is key to a bedtime that goes smoothly.
I received compensation and samples for this post, all opinions are my own.
Snack– About an hour before bedtime I give my kids a healthy snack, usually a yogurt. It helps them begin to wind down and makes sure that they are going to sleep with full stomachs.
Bathtime– Wash the day off with some bath time fun. My kids adore the bath. Sometimes we make it a bubble bath or add some color tablets. Since my kids were babies I have loved using a soothing bedtime body wash.
Pj’s and Lotion– Once out of the bath we start my favorite part of bedtime. Lotion. I love taking some time with my kids to talk about their day while I use NIVEA Creme to moisturize their skin. When I was a little girl, my mom used to always keep NIVEA Creme on her hands. She always had some by her bed and some in her purse. I can’t help but think of her as I share that same creme with my kids. We recently moved from Arizona to Alaska and my kid’s skin is really paying the price. NIVEA Creme contains rich moisturizing care with Jacoba Oil and Vitamin E and really helps their chapped cheeks and dry fingers. We follow up their lotion with some comfy pajamas, now everyone is ready to snuggle in for a good story.
Story Time– NIVEA Creme Fairytale Tins are limited edition, available only at Rite-Aid and Target this holiday season. Each tin has a whimsical illustration by Joelle Tourlonias on the outside that go along with one of five original short stories by Udo Weigelt. My kids love to choose which tin of lotion we use, based on the story they want to hear. Our current favorite is Mia and The Missing Wand. All of the short stories can be found at: tales.NIVEA.com.
5 minutes– We recently added this addition to our bedtime routine and it has been a game changer. Each of my kids get five minutes, we set a timer, to spend alone with mom or dad before bed. These five minutes can be spent doing anything quiet and relaxing that they want to do. Sometimes my kids ask for an extra NIVEA short story. Sometimes they ask for a snuggle, or we sing songs. My son usually picks an animal to research while I tickle his back. My daughter almost always asks me to climb in to her bed for a snuggle and a talk. No matter what they choose, these five minutes have become the highlight of my day. With three young children it is really hard to find quiet, alone time with each one of them. Plus, it really helps them relax for a good nights rest.
I am having so much trouble getting my three year old to go to bed! These tips might be helpful!
As mom of 4 kids born in a year, including triplets, I love your toddler bedtime ideas. At our house Story Time was always key in getting the kids into bed and they actually looked forward to having an extra 30 minutes to stay up and read once they were in their beds.
My kids have been in the same routine since babies. We recently switched it up a bit and they go to bed later because of the gym.
I have older children but I remember the toddler bedtime woes. This is a great post for parents of young children.
Definitely lotion after bath time. Look at that cute face!
The important part is to stick to a routine! If they know bedtime is coming they’ll be much more cooperative!
We love Nivea Creme and we’ve been using this for years. Your kids are adorable.
That Nivea Creme sounds perfect for the bedtime routine. I love the 5 minutes idea too!
These are great tips for toddlers bedtime. I will have to share this with my friends with little ones.
I find a nice warm bath before bed to be a great way for the kids to start relaxing before bed. These are great tips.
Bath time is big in our household too, we also follow it up with a nice lotion rub down with some soothing ‘sleepytime’ scents. Great tips!
Isn’t it so funny how shocked they are when we announce beds. My kids always seem shocked, even when I give them a countdown. Great tips. Thanks for sharing.
Getting the little one down to bed can be tough, especially as a new mom. Your tips are so important to get out there to save us some troubles. Thank you!
My kids are usually so tired they pass out after books!We also like our songs and prayers.
I love your bedtime routine. My children are older so this wouldn’t work for them but when they were younger we had a bit of a bedtime routine. We always ended with a story and hugs and kisses.
Such great tips! I would have loves to use these when my kids were adjusting to a bedtime routine.
Great tips! I’ve never really had any issues with my toddler aged kids and bedtime, it’s always my older (7/8/9) year olds! But I know a few people this may help!
Our son is older now, but back then he did ok sleeping. He has trouble sleeping now I should do some of this now.
We do bath time and story time, but we haven’t tried the 5 minutes. It’s a nice idea to use a timer because my son sucks me in for an hour asking for more time. lol.
These are great tips. If only they worked on four legged toddlers. I have three fur babies, and they’re not excited about bedtime.
You have a great routine. We always had a similar one when my kids were little.