It’s been a long day. You’re boss moved up the due date of your report by two weeks, you got a flat on the way home and you forgot to pick up the dry cleaning. After hastily throwing together dinner and running your kid through the bath, you’re ready to kick back with a glass of wine and spend a few, quiet hours with your spouse before bed. The only problem is, your kid won’t stay in bed. Let us show you how your kid’s bedroom designs can help you out at bedtime.

Quiet Time

Experts suggest allowing your child to wind down in the last thirty minutes before bedtime. Parents and any other children in the house should all be at a more relaxed space. Save high energy activities for the next day and spend a relaxing time with each other. You can accomplish this easily by having your child retire to their room. Provide them with a reading nook with soft lighting, a selection of books and comfy seating, like beanbags chairs. If your child is younger, read to them – this way when they are older they will take it upon themselves to read on their own before bed. This will help calm them down and get them into the rhythm, allowing sleep to come more easily.

Make Tomorrow Exciting

Some children’s issues with going to sleep at night stem from anxiety. That anxiety can come from the idea that they will miss out on fun activities after they go to bed. To help ease this anxiety, make all their tomorrow’s seem exciting. You can tie this in to the idea that the sooner they go to bed and fall asleep, the sooner the next day’s excitement will begin. In order to help reinforce this concept, create a chalkboard or other chart form where you can list all of the exciting things the child can look forward to the next day. Having these reminders in their room will make the concept of sleeping to get to the next round of excitement easier. Get them involved in creating the list for the next day. This also gets them in the routine of planning their days, creating a more organized child.

Alarm Clock Responsibility

Make it a habit to have your child, when they’re old enough, set their own alarm clock. Have them help you select a fun alarm clock that will not only wake them, but will do so in a fun way that they will look forward to each morning. Teach your child how to set and turn off the alarm. This is also a great opportunity to teach them about time, if you haven’t already.

Lighting

Just like any room in your home, your child’s lighting should be made up of several layers. For play time and any other activities that require lots of light, use typical overhead lighting. Allow for various other levels of lighting by placing dimmable table lamps next to beds and in reading areas and nightlights for overnight lighting (if your child requires it).

Trying out some of these tips, as well as setting and maintaining a routine with your child should help ease the struggle of putting your child to bed.

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