Creating a Peaceful Bedtime Routine
Bedtime can be a tough time of the day. Sometimes your kids are ready for sleep, but often their big emotions can take over bedtime. It can be really challenging to know how to help your child have a peaceful bedtime and it is a question that we get a lot at Compassionate Counseling St. Louis.
We asked our expert therapists at St. Louis Compassionate Counseling for their top tips to help with bedtime routines. Read below to learn more about creating a peaceful bedtime routine for your child from the team at Compassionate Counseling St. Louis.
Kelsey Dunn, MSW, LCSW
Kelsey Dunn, MSW, LCSW
Founder of Compassionate Counseling St. Louis, Kelsey Dunn, MSW, LCSW, recommends creating a sleep routine.
A sleep routine is a consistent practice of the same things, in the same order that can help train your brain to make sleep associations.
Some things that can be a part of your child’s sleep routine can include using a sound machine, a nightlight, or calming music. These things can be paired with a structured bedtime process like putting on pajamas, brushing teeth, and listening to a story or music. Follow these steps in the same order each night to help build a predictable and calming nighttime routine for your child. Give your new routine some time, about 2 or 3 weeks, and then re-evaluate and make changes as needed.
Molly Shaffer, MA, LPC
Molly Shaffer, MA, LPC
Our Senior Therapist, Molly Shaffer, MA, LPC often works with clients as both a child therapist and parent coach on creating peaceful sleep bedtime routines.
The first thing Molly always recommends, just like Kelsey explained, is setting up a sleep routine. Molly suggests adding in things like limiting screen time and sleep meditations into your child’s sleep routine.
Limiting screen time before bed can be one of the first steps of your sleep routine. This step can help kids start to wind down and reduce exposure to blue light, which can make their ability to fall asleep harder.
Support for Parents is Available!
Setting up new routines at home can be hard to do, but you don’t have to do it alone. Compassionate Counseling St. Louis offers Therapeutic Parent Coaching to help you identify and practice the most helpful routines for your child.
Samantha Ferrara, MSW, LCSW
Samantha Ferrara, MSW, LCSW
Samantha Ferrara, MSW, LCSW is one of our parent coaches and teen therapists at Compassionate Counseling St. Louis.
Samantha recommends using Progressive Muscle Relaxation as a part of your child’s bedtime routine. Samantha will sometimes practice this skill in session so your child will know how to do this at home.
Another tip that Samantha often gives parents in her parent coaching sessions is to help their child set up a morning launchpad before going to bed. A morning launchpad can include clothes to put on in the morning, homework in their backpack and backpack by the front door. This way your child knows that the morning is already set up for them.
In her sessions with kids and teens, Samantha works with her clients to draw out their fears or dreams that may be keeping them awake and then they rewrite the end of the fear with art, letters and other creative methods. This can really help empower your child if they get worried about bad dreams or have worries that are keeping them awake.
Guided Meditations To Try At Home
Guided Meditation for ADHD and Anxiety
Warm Rain Guided Meditation for Kids, Teens and Adults With Anxiety
Guided Meditation for Anxiety: Dropping Anchor
Guided Meditation for Letting Go of Anxiety
Want Some Help Creating Your Child’s Bedtime Routine?
Creating and implementing bedtime routines for your child can be so challenging. At Compassionate Counseling St. Louis, our parent coaches will work with you to figure out the best way to set up your child for peaceful bedtime routines.
Compassionate Counseling St. Louis provides individual counseling to kids, teens and college students experiencing anxiety and anxiety-driven anger. We know that anxiety can impact our ability to have peaceful bedtimes, which is why our child and teen therapists are experts and helping St. Louis kids and teens build the skills to help them relax and manage their anxiety and anxiety driven anger. Reach out today for a free consultation call to learn how you can work with one of our anxiety specialists to help set your child up for success.
Curious to learn more about anxiety and anxiety-driven anger? Reach out to us at hello@compassionatecounselingstl.com. As child anxiety experts, we love working with kids, teens, college students and parents to help manage their anxiety, stress, and anger. Compassionate Counseling St. Louis is located in Clayton, MO and works with families throughout St. Louis City, St. Louis County, Ladue, University City, Town and Country, Webster Groves, Creve Couer, Kirkwood, Richmond Heights, and Brentwood. We also provide online therapy Missouri wide to teens and college students. You can set up your first free consult on this website, on our consultation page.