As I just told my daughter to get back in her bed for the 20th time tonight, but things used to be worse.

Part of it for me was that come bedtime my kids weren’t tired, so they didn’t go to sleep. The were up til right before bedtime watching tv or some other screen, and aside from school hadn’t done much that day. Once we started doing more outdoor and active things during our evenings and less screen stuff, my kids would wind down a lot quicker. Part of it was probably getting tired, but also part of it was giving attention. I noticed my son wouldn’t go to sleep because I hadn’t been the most attentive to him that day and it acting out around bedtime and not going to sleep was a last ditch effort to try to get some attention from me. It worked, but I hated how angry I always got.

Now, we still have days where they stay up and don’t want to sleep, and I try to keep my cool as best as I can and talk to them about what we can all do together tomorrow, but they have to go to sleep now. It works most times, and sometimes the foot does come down, but it’s nuch less frequent.

I don’t claim to know what your schedule and routine is by any means, and my kids are likely a bit longer than yours, but hopefully it’s something