my best bedtime-for-kids tip to calm the crazies!

Sometimes there’s rhyme and there’s reason, sometimes there’s neither. Those nights when my kids fall fast asleep–quickly, efficiently instead of lurching about the room like large whack-a-moles–and I can point to why: oh! It was all the fresh air! And other times when the sleep just will not come and I find blame: damn that chocolate too late in the day! But, because this is how life and parenthood is, sometimes that fresh air does not inspire sleep in the evening and sometimes the sleep comes despite that afternoon chocolate. Steve laughs at my uncanny desire to constantly be trying to assess, trying to assert blame or find reason as to why things happened one way versus another. It’s just my gift, really. If only I were better at the actual predictions…I had this idea recently, after finding some of my own comfort over the last several months in the Insight Timer app, to turn it on for my kids after our nighttime story. Important note: I don’t actually pay for this app — I downloaded it for free and only use the free ones (of which there are many). It’s helped me a lot, off and on, with my own meditation, or monkey-brain, or those times when sleep just will not come. They have a kids’ section, and once there you’ll find them for bedtime, for positivity, for confidence building. It might take a few tries to find the one that works for you, but it has seriously been the perfect antidote to the just before bed crazies, and the first time I did it, Parker interrupted to say, “My body feels so heavy.” I also absolutely love instilling in them this idea of mindfulness. That they really have so much control over their feelings and their emotions, and so sometimes I connect the dots for them later as to how relaxed they felt even though their surroundings were identical to any other night. It’s been great, and I hope it might help your own bedtime routine… especially these days!To bump up the relaxation even more, diffusing a combo of cedarwood and lavender, or some other sleepy blend is a nice addition.