Parenting - Bedtime Battles

Featuring Lisa Bunnage, Parenting Coach

Duration: 2 minutes, 6 seconds

Bedtime battles with young children are very serious in some families because it leads to sleep deprivation.

And that can cause a lot of stress and a lot of problems and a lot of relationship breakdowns. So you really want to get your kids in a good bedtime routine from a very, very young age. One of the reasons why toddlers start with bedtime battles is that they don't have any control over anything else. It's one of the few situations that they feel they can have some power over mom and dad.

Bedtime battles are a result of lack of discipline. You say to your children 'Bedtime is 8:00 and that's when you're going to bed.' Then, you start getting them ready and having bath time at 7:00 or 7:30. It's a ritual and it's structure and they will just know that they have no other option. There's no calling out 'I'm thirsty'. Too bad, that's it, and make the 8:00 cut off the rule.

You can leave a light on, or you can sit in their room in a chair with them while they go to sleep but there's no conversation. You're just there to make sure they're not scared. And you tell them that and you look down, and you don't give them any eye contact. It's just a nice, quiet, peaceful time.

Bedtime battles are usually accompanied by other problems too. It's not usually just one problem. It's usually a whole discipline package. So if you can get this one licked then you'll probably be able to do the other ones too.

If you have questions about bedtime battles, contact a local parenting coach.

Presenter: Ms. Lisa Bunnage, Counselor, Coquitlam, BC

Local Practitioners: Counselor