Question

Hi Moms!  I was hoping some of you would share your bedtime routine for a 3/4 year old.Hi Moms! I was hoping some of you would share your bedtime routine for a 3/4 year old. Do any of you still rock them? Mine has quite the lengthy process so looking for some new ideas. Thanks!  

Answer 1

Bath every other day. She still wants milk and a daddy sings her a song. Usually bed by 10/1030

Answer 2

I try to read 3 stories then she picks her music on her hatch she usually gets a few minutes of rocking then bed. by 8-9pm

Answer 3

Shower/bath, brush teeth, pjs, read a book or two and I cuddle with him until he falls asleep. Usually within 20mins of cuddling he falls asleep. He’s usually asleep by 7:30/8:00pm (most days).  

Answer 4

I think timing depends on when they wake up. When my daughter was 3, I did bath, last show and then story. Bed by 7:30-8. But she was up at 6:35. Totally different with my son when he didn’t have to get up as early.  

Answer 5

Definitely no rocking in our house. My daughter is 3. 5 her routine is bath every other night, read a couple of books for 5-10 minutes, look at books by herself for a few minutes, then lights out around 7:15.  

Comments

@periotic0 I like the look at books by herself. Would calm her down. We do that at nap time since her room is light she allowed one book to browse. But I never thought about leaving the light on for a bit then going back up. I’m just afraid she would come up with more things if I go back ‍♀️

---

@giraudoux332 her light switch is right by the door. I do all our good night before and literally say lights out, turn it off and leave. It works for us

---

@periotic0 that is nice. She still only has a lamp on the other side of her room. Soon our house will be remodeled though and I will have new electrical and that will be my new idea. She loves reading in bed and falls asleep so fast at nap

Answer 6

Rocking movie milk then he likes to lay in bed under the covers and watxh whatever is on t. v. or lullabies from YouTube

Answer 7

3 year old- brush teeth, kiss goodnight, tuck in and turn night light on. 8-8:30 4. 5 yr old- brush teeth, kiss goodnight, tuck in, night light on. 8:30 I don’t lay with them on bed. We cuddle in living room before bedtime starts. Only one I rock to sleep is my 1yr old.  

Comments

@recommend that is super smart to lay with them on the couch first. I made the mistake of cuddles in bed and then they would freak out every time I would try and leave the room!  

---

@cerenkov It took a while to get here! My 4. 5 year old was the hardest to put down to bed. We took it slow bc he’s very sensitive but we are finally able to lay him down and not have to lay down with him.  

---

@recommend that's great! It's the little wins that help to keep your sanity  

Answer 8

Brush teeth, read a book, turn off main light and turn. Igor light on, then sing a song, say a prayer, hug and kiss and I leave

Answer 9

Read a book, eat 3-5 snacks ‍♀️, brush teeth, put him in bed by 8:30, tell him 3 stories, lay on his floor for a minute, then leave. then he calls us back in because he wants lotion, then he wants chapstick then he wants someone to lay down for another minute, then he wants to go pee pee again. Usually this takes 30 minutes.  

Comments

@orange lol sounds familiar to mine! I have to pee, thirsty, another book? Hey let’s play zingo! You think I could have maybe a tiny bit of coffee to try?  (she wants to try my coffee so bad and for some reason at night pushes for it )

---

@giraudoux332 that's pretty funny about the coffee! My daughter is 12 and I still say no to coffee  

Answer 10

Bath, brush teeth, 4 stories, then my husband sits in his bedroom for about 10 minutes. It’s definitely a lengthy process!  

Answer 11

Brush teeth, go potty, Read 1/2 stories and lay with him for a few minutes. Somedays it’s worse than others and he says he has to pee like 500 times.  

Answer 12

Potty, PJs, teeth, 2 books of their choice in bed, we say 2 favorite parts of our day each, I sing 2 rounds of our bedtime song while I tuck them in and give a kiss and hug. They have a water cup there, so they don’t get up and ask for that.  

Comments

@chud11005 I like it pro active bedtime  

Answer 13

All my kids co-slept with us so it was a difficult transition. I currently have a just turned 3 yr old, 6 and 8 and all were trained same way. bath, brush teeth, pick up rooms(for bigs), pick an sleeping buddy(stuffed animal or toy car for my boys), in bed and hugs/kiss goodnight. For the 3 yr old, I used to have to lay down and cuddle till he fell asleep, now he just goes in and sleeps. Thank God as I have a good 3-4 hrs to get stuff done. Sometimes you let them cry it out but always go back to bed, never back in OUR bed or they get used to it. Oh and all the givens as said above, potty, sometimes read a book, but my kids like to read out loud to me while I fix breakfast or they read to their baby brother. We’re in bed by 8-8:30 and up by 6:30 as bus arrived 7:20. Also no food/drink an hour before bc I dealt with lots of bed wetting w/all my kids.  

Answer 14

Brush teeth, go potty, read one book while in bed, say a prayer, goodnight (walk out and shut the door). Both our kids have a similar routine (ages 2 and 5). Takes about 10 minutes.  

Comments

@selfconsistent your a pro! Sound like your consistent schedules is working good! I prob need more of a set routine

Answer 15

Soon to be 4 year old - go up 7:15ish. Potty PJ’s Teeth Book Tuck In Lights out 7:45ish

Comments

@galore sounds perfect  I think I should start earlier and aim for that time.  

Answer 16

I still rock my 2yr. She won't go to bed by herself but is a decent-ish sleeper if you get her down. We've tried to get her down by herself since she was a baby and it ends up being a battle of wills with her screaming. Against my parental instincts, I listened to a dr. who recommended cio. For my child this did not work. Her will is too strong and she'll ramp herself up rather than calm down. I'll rock her as long as she needs. She won't be 20 getting rocked.  

Comments

@estimable Lynn fear not! You won't rock forever. My now 22 yr old was the same way. If you left her to cry it out she'd just get herself more worked up and then it would be even longer to get her asleep. We always rocked her. My son was the opposite and didnt like to be rocked. Each kid is different. Enjoy the snuggling while you can! They grow up fast.  

---

@estimable Lynn good to hear. my lil needs snuggles and sometimes I feel like it takes forever cause she will be almost asleep then look and me and make a funny face and we will start cracking up and we then start over again  

Answer 17

4 year old- potty, brush teeth, bath (not every night), pjs, read one story, lights out. He still wants snuggles to go to sleep, so I’m in with him for about 15 minutes or so. He’s asleep by 8-8:30 most nights.  

Answer 18

These are some really great bedtime routines. I enjoy reading all the different methods. I def have some new great ideas. Thank you for all the routines!  

Answer 19

We do potty, brush teeth, wash hands "quiet time" before bed, sometimes he falls asleep on me during quiet time while watching his movie "dino nut" (ice age, age of the dinosaurs) if he doesn't fall asleep it's in to his room, mommy and daddy sing twinkle twinkle, and he goes into bed awake and falls asleep on his own.  

Answer 20

We did the usual teeth face PJs book etc but because my daughter had such a hard time sleeping we counted and breathed each night. That calmed her the most! Check out the group Mama Can't Sleep.  

Answer 21

We use the 3 Bs. Bath, brush teeth, book, sweet dreams and leave.  

Comments

@cerenkov Piasecki keep it simple! I like that!  

Answer 22

Whatever you do, just start it early. I used to start their routine at 7pm. If they had a rough day, I would start at 6:45. Keep it simple otherwise they will want to keep adding on.  

Comments

If watching a short tv show before bed, cuddle with them. Your snuggling will give them the bonding and security they need before sleeping.  

Answer 23

My husband puts him in his room because if I did he'd never let me leave. I do my older one's routine so it's an excuse for me to be in the other room. At 8pm head up, change into PJs, brush teeth, hang out for 5 minutes all together in spare bedroom, all say goodnight, he goes into his room with hubby, they read 1-3 small books, go pee, tuck in, say goodnight, leave.