I received compensation in exchange for this post. All opinions are my own.
A recent study in which 10,000 children were tested, results show that kids are more likely to have behavior problems if they go to bed late or don’t have regular bedtimes. The study also found that when children went to bed earlier, their behavior improved. It’s amazing the correlation between children & sleep.
So the question then is how do you make this happen? At our house the best way we have found to make bedtime flow more smoothly is to have a bedtime routine. I have two kids under the age of three, we usually start with bath time. After bath we put on lotion and pajamas and they each have a yogurt to eat, otherwise they wake up hungry. Then we brush and floss teeth and head in for a story.
We try to start this process at about the same time each night, but even if we start a little early, or a little later, their routine is the same so they seem to do okay. Still, my oldest tries to stall and sometimes we need to shake things up a little. The American Academy of Sleep Medicine has developed two free apps to help in these situations.
These two apps- I See the Animals Sleeping and The Animals Sleep are the cutest story books that walk kids through different animals’ sleep patterns, environment and adaptations. It is a great way to help your kids understand why we sleep and why it is important.
Each book has a read to me feature or you can turn that off and read it yourself. One of my favorite parts of each book is an icon your child can click with each illustration that gives them a fact about the animal pictured. My little guy loves to learn about animals so this is really fun. The apps also include a coloring book, puzzle and quiz games, my son always wants to do these puzzles.
Both apps can be downloaded free use on your iPad, Kindle Fire or Android device. If you do not have one of these devices, the hardback version of the books can be found on amazon here.