How to Handle the Bedtime Routine Like Supernanny
Block out outside noises from the room., Get the child into their pajamas., Get the sleeping area ready., Help your child unwind in their room., Figure out which of Supernanny's two techniques might be best for your child., Keep calm and stay in the...
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Block out outside noises from the room.
Eliminate noises from telephones, computers, cell phones and other electronic devices during the period setting your kids up to go to sleep by telling people not to call after a certain time or silencing/unplugging your phone.
Avoid using using electronic devices unless you are behind closed doors or far enough away that the child can't hear you. -
Step 2: Get the child into their pajamas.
Besides making them feel more comfortable at night, this can help signal to the child that bedtime is coming up.
If you start by putting on their preferred pajamas, the child will learn to recognize that this part of the routine means it's time to relax and prepare for bed.
Plan ahead.
If you have several children that need dressing assistance, you'll need to allot yourself enough time to get everyone ready for bed.
If the child still needs to wear a diaper, change it now, rather than having to disrupt the routine later. , Make the room as mildly temperate as can be, whether that involves cooling it down or heating it up.
If needed, you can add or subtract additional layers of clothes on the child, but adjust other factors in the room such as heaters and fans. , Read books or sing them some calming songs; this will help to set the mood into "nighttime mode". , Although both styles have their advantages, there's also an age factor that plays a part.
The Sleep Separation Technique is meant for children who are younger than 3 years old, and the Stay in Bed Technique is usually aimed at older children.
Aim your methods towards getting the youngest children off first, before getting the others to sleep.
Yes, at first the Stay In Bed technique can take a little bit of time to master, but with practice the child will learn and you can then move on to the older children with help from your significant other
- or here you can split up the duties if you have someone else around at bedtime. , Give the child the encouragement to fall asleep in their room.
Give them kisses and hugs (cuddles, as Supernanny calls them). , Most often times, this technique is used when the child sleeps in a crib and hasn't yet moved to their own bed. , Try to remain quiet and move minimally, to avoid disrupting your child's rest. , If you need to, you may end up sitting on the floor with your legs crossed Indian-style.
Make sure that the child can see the side of your face, but refuse to give any direct eye contact to the child.
It may be hard but this is essential to the method.
If you need to, use small strips of reflective tape to mark the place where you are sitting so you can return. (You may even need to do this prior to turning out the lights.) Increase the distance between you and the child each night you use this technique.
Make sure that you creep closer and closer to the door, as long as the child still feels secure in their crib. , Make no communication with the child.
This may be hard when they call for you, but remain consistent and firm in your approach. , Avoid eye contact.
Look away from the child, as you pick them up and place them back in their crib. , Act as if you never left the spot; sit so that the child can still see the side of your face from the same spot. , It'll be upsetting to hear them cry, but recognize that the child will be okay and isn't in pain; they just need to learn the new routine. ,, Each night following, move closer and closer to the door.
Once you are outside the door, spend that night sitting there.
After being outside the door, you can actively go about a normal routine., Talk to them and tell them that it's nighttime now when you place them into bed, and that you'd like them to calm down and relax. , Whether you head back to your bedroom or stand just out of sight distance, they should not be able to see you.
Wait for them to stir and get out of bed. , Remind the child that it is nighttime in soft, mellow words as you walk them back into their room, before placing them back down into their bed.
You might say, "It's nighttime/bedtime darling," for example.
Try not to feed into their activity.
By this time, if they can walk, have them walk into bed from wherever they are.
If they can't quite walk (or refuse to), carry them back into bed either in the shoulder hold or cradle hold (letting their legs dangle free). ,,, Make this interaction very brief, including a brief kiss and cuddle if needed.
Use the Supernanny-approved "Bedtime, darling" response. ,, This is an easy step to forget, but it's important after a third attempt not to say anything. , They will begin to realize that bedtime means "sleep".
Don't kiss or cuddle them on these subsequent trips back to bed.
Follow through with whether or not you'll be able to carry them. , -
Step 3: Get the sleeping area ready.
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Step 4: Help your child unwind in their room.
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Step 5: Figure out which of Supernanny's two techniques might be best for your child.
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Step 6: Keep calm and stay in the bedroom.
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Step 7: Place the child into their crib.
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Step 8: Turn out the lights in nearby rooms (such as hallways leading to the child's room).
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Step 9: Sit down next to the crib
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Step 10: but keep within your child's eyesight.
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Step 11: Resist the urge to get up and handle your child
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Step 12: unless they actually get out of their crib.
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Step 13: Return the child back to their crib
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Step 14: if the child tries to escape.
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Step 15: Return yourself to the same spot on the floor.
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Step 16: Let the child cry until they tire themselves out and cry themselves off to sleep.
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Step 17: Get up and walk out of the room once you can be assured that they have actively fallen asleep.
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Step 18: Handle subsequent nights.
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Step 19: Bring the child into their bed
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Step 20: like you always would have done
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Step 21: then exit the room.
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Step 22: Leave the room.
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Step 23: Give them a hug and a cuddle as you pick them up and transport them back into their room the first time.
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Step 24: Leave the room
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Step 25: much like you did before.
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Step 26: Wait for the second trip out of bed (if it happens).
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Step 27: Tell the child that it's nighttime
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Step 28: take them and bring them back into their room and place them back into their bed.
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Step 29: Leave the room and wait for the child to come out
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Step 30: if they do.
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Step 31: Bring the child back into their bed without saying anything.
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Step 32: Repeat this "third trip" out of bed routine until the child are convinced that they won't get a reaction from you.
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Step 33: Stay consistent in the route and technique in subsequent nights that the child gets out of bed.
Detailed Guide
Eliminate noises from telephones, computers, cell phones and other electronic devices during the period setting your kids up to go to sleep by telling people not to call after a certain time or silencing/unplugging your phone.
Avoid using using electronic devices unless you are behind closed doors or far enough away that the child can't hear you.
Besides making them feel more comfortable at night, this can help signal to the child that bedtime is coming up.
If you start by putting on their preferred pajamas, the child will learn to recognize that this part of the routine means it's time to relax and prepare for bed.
Plan ahead.
If you have several children that need dressing assistance, you'll need to allot yourself enough time to get everyone ready for bed.
If the child still needs to wear a diaper, change it now, rather than having to disrupt the routine later. , Make the room as mildly temperate as can be, whether that involves cooling it down or heating it up.
If needed, you can add or subtract additional layers of clothes on the child, but adjust other factors in the room such as heaters and fans. , Read books or sing them some calming songs; this will help to set the mood into "nighttime mode". , Although both styles have their advantages, there's also an age factor that plays a part.
The Sleep Separation Technique is meant for children who are younger than 3 years old, and the Stay in Bed Technique is usually aimed at older children.
Aim your methods towards getting the youngest children off first, before getting the others to sleep.
Yes, at first the Stay In Bed technique can take a little bit of time to master, but with practice the child will learn and you can then move on to the older children with help from your significant other
- or here you can split up the duties if you have someone else around at bedtime. , Give the child the encouragement to fall asleep in their room.
Give them kisses and hugs (cuddles, as Supernanny calls them). , Most often times, this technique is used when the child sleeps in a crib and hasn't yet moved to their own bed. , Try to remain quiet and move minimally, to avoid disrupting your child's rest. , If you need to, you may end up sitting on the floor with your legs crossed Indian-style.
Make sure that the child can see the side of your face, but refuse to give any direct eye contact to the child.
It may be hard but this is essential to the method.
If you need to, use small strips of reflective tape to mark the place where you are sitting so you can return. (You may even need to do this prior to turning out the lights.) Increase the distance between you and the child each night you use this technique.
Make sure that you creep closer and closer to the door, as long as the child still feels secure in their crib. , Make no communication with the child.
This may be hard when they call for you, but remain consistent and firm in your approach. , Avoid eye contact.
Look away from the child, as you pick them up and place them back in their crib. , Act as if you never left the spot; sit so that the child can still see the side of your face from the same spot. , It'll be upsetting to hear them cry, but recognize that the child will be okay and isn't in pain; they just need to learn the new routine. ,, Each night following, move closer and closer to the door.
Once you are outside the door, spend that night sitting there.
After being outside the door, you can actively go about a normal routine., Talk to them and tell them that it's nighttime now when you place them into bed, and that you'd like them to calm down and relax. , Whether you head back to your bedroom or stand just out of sight distance, they should not be able to see you.
Wait for them to stir and get out of bed. , Remind the child that it is nighttime in soft, mellow words as you walk them back into their room, before placing them back down into their bed.
You might say, "It's nighttime/bedtime darling," for example.
Try not to feed into their activity.
By this time, if they can walk, have them walk into bed from wherever they are.
If they can't quite walk (or refuse to), carry them back into bed either in the shoulder hold or cradle hold (letting their legs dangle free). ,,, Make this interaction very brief, including a brief kiss and cuddle if needed.
Use the Supernanny-approved "Bedtime, darling" response. ,, This is an easy step to forget, but it's important after a third attempt not to say anything. , They will begin to realize that bedtime means "sleep".
Don't kiss or cuddle them on these subsequent trips back to bed.
Follow through with whether or not you'll be able to carry them. ,
About the Author
Elizabeth Morgan
Experienced content creator specializing in pet care guides and tutorials.
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