Bedtime routines are a necessity when it comes to parenting little ones. It signals the end of the day and helps to encourage our little energetic children to wind down and get ready to sleep. It goes beyond just washing up, brushing those teeth, and getting them into their jammies. For your kids, bedtime prayer and some talking will give them just what they need for a sweet sleep.
Bedtime routines should consist of 3 to 4 activities that will help them transition to the bed in a timely fashion. Activities will differ between families, but the special part of the bedtime routine is that you and your child can spend time together. You can use this time to sit together to read, talk, and pray.
Storytime
Reading is one of the best ways to calm the thoughts and set the mood for being quiet. (You can’t hear the story if you’re talking!) Reading can also be your special bonding time that is set aside for parent and child each day as both can have busy days and bonding time can get lost in the mix. Here are some advantages of reading together at bedtime.
- Reading teaches more vocabulary. You’ll see their listening skills put to the test as they absorb new words as you read with them. This in turn will boost their confidence in speaking with others and trying out their new vocabulary. The great thing is, because this is a fun time between parent and child, this won’t feel like learning. (Just don’t tell them that!)
- Reading sparks imagination. You will find at times that your child repeats a concept or story back to you in a different way, depending on how they interpret what they’ve heard. What we may see in our minds is certainly different from what they see in their minds. This allows for some great conversation and may inspire you to look at things through their eyes more often. When we can get a closer glimpse of how their minds work, we can learn to adjust how we present things when we teach, resulting in a better learning experience.
Prayer Time
Another part of your bedtime routine can be prayer time. It’s the perfect time at the end of the day to thank God for everything that happened and to acknowledge all that He provided for us. It’s also a good time to reflect on our behaviour, whether good or bad, and ask God to help us with the things we need to still work on. We can also ask God to help us with the next day.
Read more on Why You Should Pray With Your Kids Before Bed Every Night.
Prayer with your kids at bedtime can be the major factor in your children’s spiritual maturity. Make this prayer time a special connection between you and your child(ren) but also encourage them to make it a special time between them and God. Get them to get personal by just having a talk with God like they would talk to you or talk to a friend.
See this article, Discipling Through Kids’ Bedtime Prayer, to get inspired with many different ways to energize your child’s prayer life.
Special Talks
The bedtime routine offers that chance to have that one-on-one time with your child. When you read and pray together, you’ll discover that you will have important conversations of moral lessons from the stories you read or why you prayed what you prayed. Whether you read directly from the Bible or other bedtime stories, you’re sure to draw out questions from your little ones' imaginative minds that will take you into some meaningful conversations. This is your opportunity to engage those questions to teach them how to apply the lesson learned to real life situations.
We all know that sometimes bedtime conversations can go on and on, especially for a child who is trying to avoid going to sleep. While these conversations are special and important, it’s a good thing to be mindful of the time you spend. Keep a journal or notepad nearby and have you or your child write down their burning questions that can be left for the following night and then you’ll be able to keep the conversation going without sacrificing sleep, and it will show your child that you love and value the conversation.
Here are some tips as a reminder for maintaining your bedtime routines.
- Be consistent in the activities every night. Do the same activities so they know what to expect and do the activities in the same order.
- Keep it short and sweet. Children will try to prolong some of the activities but stay true to keeping the time short.
- Ensure you have a good sleeping environment that includes taking the lights off/dimmed, a cool temperature in the room, and keeping noise levels very low.
Your bedtime routines will help them develop good sleeping habits when they get older and give them a sense of security when they know what to expect. The bonding time will always sweeten the deal and the kids’ bedtime prayer will be the foundation of their prayer experience to deepen their faith.
This article has been written by homeschooling staff writers of The Canadian Schoolhouse (TCS). Enjoy more of our content from TCS contributors and staff writers by visiting our themes page that has a new theme topic added every month!
"Train up a child in the way he should go and when he is old, he will not depart from it" (Proverbs 22:6).