Bedtime doesn’t have to be a stressful, mad rush with tantrums and meltdowns. Make bedtime easier with a kids’ evening routine! Don’t forget to print your own checklist!
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In our home, routines are a must. This momma needs some structure and organization to our home or I get really overwhelmed and grumpy. (Am I the only one like that?) I’m not legalistic about routines, but they usually serve us well if I’m intentional when creating them. And the great thing about routines is that they can always be tweaked until you find exactly what works best for you!!
Related: 5 Must-Have Routines for a More Peaceful Home
When my daughter started school last year, I quickly realized that I could help her become more independent by writing down the tasks she needed to complete in the morning. She could keep herself on task all by herself. It was a win-win for both us and she uses her morning checklist to this day!
Related: Calm the Chaos with a Kids’ Morning Routine
Simplify Bedtime with a Kids’ Evening Routine
After some requests from some readers and some of my own frustration about our current bedtime ritual, I decided to do the same thing for the evenings! We have an evening routine already, but I’d never written it down, so I was back to constantly prompting and reminding. My hope is that these routines will eventually become habit, but until then, checklists work great!
I sat down and made a list of the things I expected the children to do before bed each night and their evening routine checklist was born! Not every single thing we do before bed is included, such as reading books or prayers. I stuck with the very basics of getting them ready and also made sure to include pictures so that my non-readers can still use it.
Once printed, I used my laminator and laminating pouches so that it will stay protected. My daughter loves using dry erase markers to check things off, but she gets creative too and even uses Shopkins! My son has been using his Star Wars figurines to mark each item off his list. 😊 I love how they make it their own!
This boy was being silly when I tried to snap his picture!
If you want to implement a kids’ evening routine for yourself, I’m sharing the checklist we use in our home. I’ve also included a blank version that you can tweak to suit your own family.
This simple little check list hasn’t turned bedtime into perfect bliss, but it’s been so helpful in the evenings. It makes bedtime a little easier on me, but also encourages the kids to take ownership for getting themselves ready for bed. It’s a win for everyone!
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If you are interested in more on managing your home with routines, you can check out some of these posts:
- Calm the Chaos with a Kids’ Morning Routine
- Establishing a Morning Routine
- 5 Must-Have Routines for a More Peaceful Home
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Have you implemented a kids’ evening routine?
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