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Go to Bed
Sonja Preston

Go to Bed! – How to Get Children to Stay in Bed

April 27, 2020/in 1 - 3 Years, 3 - 5 Years, Intellectual, Language, Social - Emotional /by Sonja Preston

Okay, so you’ve read three stories, tucked them in, kissed them goodnight and switched off the light.

Just as you settle into the comfy chair with a cuppa… “Mum, I’m thirsty” or “Dad, I just need to tell you something” or even little footsteps coming down the hall!

How do we get children to stay in bed once you’ve completed the bed-time routine? (As a reminder, a routine generally is something like… Bath, milk, teeth brushing, toilet, stories, kisses and cuddles.)

Basically the answer is consistency. Once a child is put to bed, with the established bed-time routine, then you follow through with consistency. If a child gets out of bed, you take their hand, walk  them back to bed, tuck them in, saying  “It’s bed-time”. If they get up again, you repeat. And repeat as many times as is necessary. Once you try to rationalise (“you’ll be tired in the morning”; you’ve already had a glass of milk”; “you should have eaten more dinner”) – then you have opened the door, for the child to engage in a conversation. They will feel the need to justify how hungry they are, or how important it is to tell you something – which then leads you to reply, and so it goes on.

Read more

https://theparentingcafe.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/go-to-bed.jpg 326 579 Sonja Preston https://theparentingcafe.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/TPC-Logo.svg Sonja Preston2020-04-27 06:00:592020-04-27 15:08:43Go to Bed! – How to Get Children to Stay in Bed
Sonja Preston

Friends are the Sunshine in Life

April 6, 2020/in 1 - 3 Years, 3 - 5 Years, 4 - 12 Months /by Sonja Preston

I recently returned from a work trip interstate, and was able to finish the week staying with an old school friend. Meredith and I first met in Primary School, when my family moved to the area. It was a very small school, with just 12 children in my grade. Meredith and I seemed to ‘click’ very quickly. This relationship was also enabled by our parents, who fostered the friendship by meeting each other, by ‘allowing’ Meredith and I to go to each others homes for play dates, and later sleep-overs. As it was a small community we also connected via a church our families were involved in and and also in a community group for girls.

We continued on to go to the same High School, though in different classes. When we were 15years old, Meredith’s family moved from NSW to QLD – so for the first time we were separated by 900km!

However, as we’d developed a close relationship we were able to continue the friendship by writing letters to each other, with a phone call at times – this is before the advent of the internet, Skype and mobile phones.

We maintained connection as we continued our tertiary studies, dated, married and had children. On rare occasions we’d see each other on holidays. We may not see each other for periods of up to 5 years, yet we re-connect easily each time. We have a lifetime friendship, which is beautiful! Read more

https://theparentingcafe.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/9397917650_c952c6d603_z-1.jpg 428 640 Sonja Preston https://theparentingcafe.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/TPC-Logo.svg Sonja Preston2020-04-06 13:00:512020-04-06 15:34:44Friends are the Sunshine in Life

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