The magic of a pre-bedtime might be the missing piece in getting your toddler to fall asleep faster. The goal of a pre-bedtime routine is to provide a calming but engaging activity for a child to do before starting the bedtime routine.. Oftentimes, kids are on screens (e.g., a tablet, or watching a show or movie) or they’re running around or rough housing before bedtime. These types of activities are stimulating and don’t help with inducing sleep or calming the body for the sleep.
Blue light emitting from screens have been rumored to interfere with the production of melatonin; however, recent research suggests it’s the content rather than the light, that’s interfering with sleep (e.g., playing a stimulating game, or watching an exciting movie). Running around to get the “energy out” raises the core body temperature which is counterproductive to inducing sleep.
Table-top activities are an excellent way to help prepare a child’s body for sleep. If the child is too young for table-top activities, floor-time works just as well.
Have a special bin of activities that you use for this time of day only. Restricting these activities to once a day helps keep the activities novel and exciting. If a child has access to these activities all the time, they may find them boring after a while.
Provide several choices of things to do: Play-Doh, Kinetic sand, coloring, Dot markers, stickers, paint with water, etc.
Have the child choose an activity and have the child sit at the table in a booster or highchair. This keeps their body in one place, so they have time to relax and allow their body to feel tired.
If you have the chance to sit with your child, this can be helpful as they will stay engaged in the activity longer with an adult which helps their attention span. This also allows an opportunity for special 1:1 time to connect and bond after a busy day. You can work on developing language (e.g., requesting items or simply narrating what the child is doing) and other important skills such as taking turns with a crayon for older toddlers.
*If the bedtime routine activates a child or causes conflict, you can do these calming activities after getting ready for bed. Some kids don’t like having their teeth brushed due to sensory issues, so the bedtime routine can be activating as opposed to calming. Additionally, kids may find the above activities very reinforcing so you can use a simple “First/Then” to get them through the bedtime routine quicker. For example, “First brush teeth, then we can color”.
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