Recently I completed writing the manuscript for a bedtime Bible storybook that will be out next year. I focused on helping children feel secure and loved as I chose and wrote the stories.

The process got me thinking about bedtime routine and rituals and how important those can be. They create and deepen family bonds, send children off to sleep feeling peaceful and content, and ensure growing children get the important sleep they need.

Grace Fox and her husband discovered that taking time to talk with children at bedtime reaps even more benefits, such as stimulating imagination, developing storytelling skills, exploring emotions, and learning to recognize letters and sounds. In addition, she says, spending time talking with parents helps children have a sense of family identity, which in turn fosters a strong sense of self-identity, a buffer against unhealthy behaviors later on.

To learn more, you can read this guest post by Grace.

Grace recently released a little book packed with great conversation starters. The book is titled Tuck-Me-In Talks with Your Little Ones: Creating Happy Bedtime Memories (Harvest House.)

And if your children’s bedtime routine needs a bit of an overhaul, here are some tips to help:

• Children like routines and knowing what to expect. So set a specific bedtime based on your child’s age and activities and maintain it each night as much as possible.
• Avoid energetic or competitive games as bedtime approaches. Choose quiet activities instead.
• A warm bath or shower, a good hair brushing, or a foot rub can help your child relax. If you offer a bedtime snack, make it sleep-inducing, such as a cup of warm milk or cocoa.
• Give gentle reminders of what happens next: “Three more minutes, then it’s time to get in your pajamas.”
• Take time to talk, read, and pray with your child. Dim the lights, and turn off the TV or tablet and your phone.

Sweet dreams!

DIANE