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SLEEP => Sleeping For Toddlers => Topic started by: mcruari on January 04, 2006, 09:25:06 am

Title: How do you do 'Wind-down' with your 2+ kiddies?
Post by: mcruari on January 04, 2006, 09:25:06 am

Hi there,
my DD seems to be getting extremely worked up towards bedtime and runs and sings and chats and is just unstoppable!
I think she can be described as a Touchy/Spirited and a little Grumpy :shock:  :shock: kind of child although she can also be adorable. :D  :D
Do any of you have suggestions for calming down hypers?
She loves reading but it has to be her doing it (so she just plays basically). She usually watches her video (either Tweenies, children singing or The AristoCats), she has a little bottle of milk during this, brushes her teeth, gets changed and then is "theoretically" ready for bed. But she is not ready to settle and wants to play with her toys/go into kitchen/stay with mummy&daddy/etc.
We are having problems with her sleeping but that is another issue :shock:  :shock: or maybe not.
Any suggestion would be welcome.

Thanks

Sinead

Title: How do you do 'Wind-down' with your 2+ kiddies?
Post by: ella&jack'smum on January 04, 2006, 10:27:10 am

I don't know if this will help, but does she have a bath as part of her routine?? It can help for a couple of reasons. Firstly you could put something herbal into the bath to help try to calm her. Also, with my DD it acts as a real 'watershead' for her - she now knows that when she comes back down after the bath all her toys will be away and she can have her milk and stories, cuddle and chat with both of us, and then off to bed. The only toy she is allowed to play with is putting her dolly to bed.

It may take a while for her to 'get it' but it may work??? Just a thought. Or you could make the bath the last thing she does, and then straight for bedtime story??

Title: How do you do 'Wind-down' with your 2+ kiddies?
Post by: mcruari on January 16, 2006, 12:22:44 pm

Sue,
thanks for your reply and sorry I didn't get back to you beforehand.
Since she caught bronchitis a couple of months ago we have eliminated the bath from her routine (she gets it when we remember :oops:  :wink: ) I am however seriously thinking of re-introducing it as part of her bedtime routine - as soon as I can get my head around the idea!!
Thanks again.

Sinead

Title: Re: How do you do 'Wind-down' with your 2+ kiddies?
Post by: Florencia on January 23, 2006, 17:55:13 pm

My ds is younger but also realy HYPER... so we start saying is getting darker and soon it's going to be nighty night time so pretty much from dinner i'm brainwashing him about bedtime. I talk talk talk about bedtime, read him bedtime stories (only stories about babies/kids going to bed, etc. hehehe the funny ones about animals and jungle are from daytime)...then, as we move into the process, i make him tidy his room (he basically just messes it more, but anyway...) and as we pick the toys we say goodnight TO EACH ONE OF THEM: good night Teddy, goodnight etc etc etc (exhausting) then, whenever he's sick and i can't bathe him, i put some lotion with lavender/chamomile (i think it's by Johnson's) that suposedly hels them relax and go easily to sleep. Then pj's and by that time he's pretty much rubbing eyes, etc.

There ahve been days when we're in a hurry and can't do all the brainwashing and beleive me, he goes to bed all wounded up and it takes me longer to settle him. With this super long routine, he waves byebye to his toys and "gets in the mood" of sleep time.

One of my aunts used to prepare the milk on lynden flowers tea instead of plain water. She had 4 hyper kids and after the bottle they were all SOOO ready to bed...i haven't been on the need to try that one yet but it doesn't hurt, does it?

Good luck!