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Put
the kids to bed
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Health Tips and Remedies
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Chidren
who hate school
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is teamwork
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Home-Schooling |
 Getting the kids
to bed can be a challenge--especially with challenging kids. We still remember
how our first child had us trained at age 20 months to sit in the "night-night"
chair until he was sound asleep. That was after we read five books without
skipping pages! But we learned that if we were going to build our marriage while
parenting our kids, the bedtime challenge had to be met sometimes with brute
force!
Now we could always get our kids in bed--the problem was
keeping them there! After ten more glasses of water, five potty trips, and four
more stories, we were also ready for bed. We were totally exhausted! Forget
marriage enrichment!
How can you take some of the hassle out of getting your children to bed so
you'll have energy left for your spouse?
Here are some of the best tips from other parents:
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Have a bedtime routine. Children love rituals so come up
with your own rituals. When you set a new bedtime routine, start it a half
hour before you want to turn out lights and say a final goodnight.
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Give your child a stuffed animal or blanket to cuddle and
take to bed with him or her.
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Once your child is in bed and lights are turned out, don't
read another story, sing another song, apologize, argue, beg.
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Reward good behaviour.
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If nothing works, consult your pediatrician. He or she may
have some great suggestions for you to try.
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Don't make it rewarding for your child to get out of bed
and come into yours. And on those occasions that they do, remember to cuddle
with each other--not just the child!
-
Here's some good advice. Never, but never, entertain or
socialize in the middle of the night. Just be a total bore!
The next morning, you can be your adorable self again. And know that someday,
your child will sleep through the night!
You know, there really isn't anything as lovely as a sleeping
kid!
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