Bedtime has always been a struggle in our house. My daughter has never been a great sleeper, so our bedtime routine is very important. As I have mentioned before, read aloud is a very important part of our nightly routine. When I noticed that some of her choices for bedtime books were winding her up more than calming her down, I decided to try something new for our bedtime reading routine. Luckily, we found a perfect book to help us too!

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Every night at bedtime, we read together before turning the lights out. Most of the time she knows exactly which book she wants me to read. Every so often I am able to sneak in my own pick, but usually she rules the selection process. I decided that in order to ensure that we were reading stories that would calm her down, I would set up a system that made her feel like she was still in charge, but also gave me the results I wanted. And the Two Book Routine began.

Our Two Book Bedtime Reading Routine

To start our Two Book Routine, I set up two boxes of books near our rocking chair in her room. In the first box, I added some of her favorite nightly read alouds. Any books she loves that are a bit funnier or more interactive in nature went into this box. The second box is full of soothing bedtime books. This box includes the sentimental poetic books I love, a selection of soothing bedtime themed books, or books that include calming language.

Check out some of our favorite Bedtime Books here!

At bedtime, she now gets to choose two books to read, which she sees as a total win. (I’ve never really been able to say no to her when she asks for more books anyway!). However, the one rule is that she has to pick one selection from each box. This ensures that we get one regular story, as well as a calming story. Then, I make sure that I read the calming story last, so the effects last into the bedtime routine. She even piles them up on the table for me when she picks them, making sure that the bedtime book is second in the pile. This process has given her the opportunity to feel like she is making the choices, while still giving me the control to influence the outcome.

One of our Favorite Bedtime Reads

One new book has quickly become her favorite in the bedtime box. Olive the Sheep Can’t Sleep was written by Clementina Almeida and illustrated by Camila Silva. This calming story follows a little sheep named Olive who isn’t ready to go to sleep. She loves playing with all of her friends, and she doesn’t want to lay down. Her mother helps her drift to sleep using a variety of simple strategies and calming words.

The strategies in the book are backed by science, and there are tips throughout the story for parents to utilize these methods with their children. The words and illustrations are both very soothing, and the additional tips make it easy to adopt the strategies in the book into your bedtime routine. My daughter absolutely loves this book, and I find myself using the strategies with her even when we aren’t reading it. One of the strategies they used is a spin on putting pretty images in her head, which my mother used with us as kids, and which I have previously used as well.

How Reading On Her Own Helped Bedtime

When my daughter first transitioned to a toddler bed, she was constantly getting out of bed and coming to the door to call to me. After several nights attempting to battle with her, I purchased a small reading lamp for her nightstand. I told her that she could read on her own in bed, but that I had to leave the room. Since she is still so young, the light has a timer, so I know that she can’t stay up longer than I would like her to.  When my sister and I were growing up, my parents always told us that we didn’t have to go to sleep at bedtime, but we had to be in bed. We were allowed to read for however long we wanted, and since we are both avid readers now, I think that plan worked out.

Since giving my daughter her reading light, she now spends a little bit of time every night reading to herself and her stuffed animals before bed. I love listening to her retell the stories that we read together, and make up her own stories as well. In addition, she no longer gets out of bed and comes to the door. She still calls out to me every so often (what child doesn’t try to push the boundaries of bedtime?), but for the most part our bedtime struggles have been minimized.

What tricks do you use with your kids to get them down for bedtime?

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