Bedtime Snack

Around my house, bedtime is the cue for little people to become very hungry. I was growing quite frustrated with the late night 'hungries' because I just knew that they were not really hungry. They just didn't want to go to bed.

Well, about a week ago I began the bedtime snack ritual. About 20 minutes before bedtime, everybody gets a snack and a drink. After story time, they no longer have the 'hungries' as an excuse to avoid bed. (They do still try...) When they start complaining that they are, indeed, starving - I simply remind them that they just had a bedtime snack.

It seems to be working around here. Bedtime has become less of a struggle and much more enjoyable for everybody.

I use the same technique to avoid the bathroom requests at bedtime, too.

I try really hard to consider all the possibilities of what the little people might come up with as a new excuse to avoid the dreaded bedtime. If I can figure out what they might want or need before they have the chance to inform me, then I can give them what they might want or need before I declare it to be time for bed. If they already have everything they might want or need, then they have no reason to delay the dreaded bedtime. Aren't I so clever....