Bedtime used to be a tough time for us. It’d be late, we’d be rushing around, and notoriously I’d be rushing through a book to turn off the lights and say goodnight. At this point in my limited childrearing experience, even I know that kids thrive on schedules. Time and time again I’ve had to remind myself that life runs much smoother when kids know what to expect. Without a schedule, we’re toast. So, we implemented a schedule.
Bedtime Routing
| 8:30 | Go Potty |
| 8:35 | Brush & Floss Teeth |
| 8:40 | Kiss Daddy Goodnight |
| 8:45 | Book (or magazine – her favorite!) |
| 8:55 | Prayers |
| 9:00 | Lights Out! |
A few months back, Kailey started having nightmares. The kind of nightmares that woke her from a deep sleep and sent her running to our room. We’d gently pick her up, make sure there were no bad guys in the house, tuck her back into her bed and assure her it was okay to go back to sleep. I’m still not sure what was causing these bad dreams. Nothing in her routine or schedule changed in any significant way. But whatever it was, we had to find a way to help her (and us!) sleep through the night again.
I decided the first thing we’d do is add an extra request into our nightly prayers that Jesus would protect Kailey from bad dreams. The very first night we tried this, it worked! And the second. And the third. We were onto something! We’ve continued this trend for a couple of months now and I can think of two times that she’s mentioned a bad dream since. The first time, she told me about it the next morning. The second time was at 6:00 on a Sunday morning. I thought for sure she’d just stay up for the day at that point, but we walked back to her room, prayed again, and she slept soundly until7:30. This is a great reminder to all of us that Jesus meets our needs. It’s an added bonus that at such a young age, Kailey knows that she can rely on God to protect her!
Full Time Love 