When talking to one of my kiddos’ teachers about a year ago, and I was telling her about how crazy bedtime was–how we were having trouble working-in a reading session at bedtime that she suggested, because things were just insanely hectic.
She laughed and shared with us a piece of wisdom I’m so grateful for: kids need a bedtime routine every night so that things aren’t hectic for them–because it’s stressful NOT to be routined.
So, we came up with an Easy Preschooler Bedtime Routine.
It’s so simple–and the instructions on the Free Printable are so easy, our kiddos really took to it.
And I brought it to you, because the teacher was right!
Having structure around bedtime has done a lot for our whole family, eliminating a level of stress we didn’t even realize we were facing.
The bonus is that we can now do our evening reading–we’ve made time for it in our schedule.
And the bonus-bonus, JOHNSON’S®, a brand I trust (heck, the hospital SENT ME HOME with some when both my babies were born!) kick’s off our bedtime routine with soothing, familiar scents, putting us right in the mood for night-night!
Easy Preschooler Bedtime Routine
Basically, the problem we were having every night was this: at some point, we would usher our girls upstairs to start “bedtime” and then there would erupt chaos.
Literal and unspeakable chaos.
Sometimes, we’d remember to brush teeth–sometimes we’d be in bed and remember and it HAD to happen.
And sometimes, we’d have potty-accidents at night because we weren’t all about getting to the potty before getting under the covers.
Literal chaos.
I’m surprised we even got them to sleep, compared to how it is now.
And reading a book before 8pm? Nope.
I was so tired by that point–and sometimes littlies were still awake. Nope.
How this Easy Preschooler Bedtime Routine seems to be our saving tactic: We follow the chart. And even if mom and dad forget a step–the kids can remind us.
Even better we’ve got an approximate time we start this routine and the kids will do most of it ON THEIR OWN–and the stress on me? Unbelievably lower.
I can only imagine how much better the kids feel.
They’re always asleep by 7:45pm and there’s just SO. Much. Less. Chaos.
And the JOHNSON’S® Baby Shampoo–let’s talk about that for a second, because, seriously, we couldn’t pull off our Easy Preschooler Bedtime Routine without JOHNSON’S®.
The familiar smells in our bath time (which kicks-off our routine) get us in the mood for night-night.
And even though J&J has been around for just about forever (something like 100 years!), JOHNSON’S® baby products have evolved and keeps being“The Brand You Trust, Now More Gentle Than Ever” throughout your life–and your baby’s.
Which is so cool.
JOHNSON’S® is my choice baby-care-product because it’s 100% gentle, and free of parabens, and phthalates (which, who wants to put that on baby’s new skin?!) and also dye free, sulfate free, worry free–which is a priority in our allergy-suffering household.
And about those awesome new JOHNSON’S® reformulated products, beginning on 8/26, you can save $1 on any 1 lotion, wash, or hair care item with this coupon through 9/22/18.
I pick mine up at Walgreens, because they’re always there for me. My local Walgreens is staffed with the kindest employees that seem to know where EVERYTHING is–and the pharmacist is happy to answer any questions I’ve had, even when I looked like warmed-poo with a screaming baby on my shoulder that needed diaper cream.
For example, one evening my husband was out of town, so I was on my own. My girls and I had been out at a friends to a playdate that had lasted far too late into the evening. Critical time was approaching for us to do our nighttime routine but as we loaded-up into the car, I remembered we were out of JOHNSON’S® Baby Lotion, a critical smell-ement of our nighttime routine. Since we were on our way home, I knew I could stop off at Walgreens–and not be worried that it wouldn’t be on the shelf.
And even though we were not at our “normal” Walgreens, and it was a different layout, we were able to ask a super-sweet lady to help point us to the baby aisle. Sure enough, there was our lotion, on the shelf, always in stock.
Yep. Walgreens and J&J–always there for me.
If you’re ready to commit and really get those kiddos in bed on a schedule, let’s do this together and pin it–that way you have the reminder.
And don’t forget to snag your Free Printable Easy Preschooler Bedtime Routine right here.