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Babysitting, require advice | by run.dll | 2004-12-21 03:05:01 |
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Um, yeah. | by Arivia | 2004-12-21 03:07:41 |
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Tried that, | by run.dll | 2004-12-21 03:22:22 |
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some thing | by dennismv | 2004-12-21 03:28:03 |
| Along those lines... |
by jdelphiki |
2004-12-21 05:23:28 |
<late advice>
In general, kids need a bedtime routine, a process they follow every night, doing the same things that they need to do to get ready for bed. When we tell our kids (four of 'em) to get ready for bed, they rotate through getting their pajamas on and the bathroom, first the younger two, then the older two. One is supposed to be getting dressed for bed while the other is in the bathroom, then they switch. After that, we read them whatever story or book we're reading to them, put them in bed, turn the lights off, kiss them goodnight, and shut the door. The same thing every night. End of story.
For babysitting, you won't, of course, know whether your wards have ever followed a bedtime routine, so it's a bit more problematic.
But you still should be able to establish a no-nonsense approach "babysitter's bedtime routine" of your own. Like dennismv said, give them advance warning about how it's going to work. Tell them:
"At the end of the <$pre-determined-interval>, it will be bedtime. The TV gets turned off. The toys will be picked up. You will get yourselves ready (try to avoid having any one of them getting ready with the others around. That only invites trouble). I will tuck you in, set the appropriate lighting level in the room (some kids don't like a dark room or closed door), and you will go to sleep."
If the kids haven't had to follow those kinds of "guidelines", they likely won't comply. But at least, their non-compliance will be breaking the "getting up from bed" rules, which are much easier to illustrate to the kids and point out to the parents later on: either they're IN bed and trying to go to sleep, or they're not. Sleep will catch them much easier in bed in a dark/semi-dark room and you're there to catch them if they're anywhere else.
Otherwise, if they are sitting on the couch watching videos, they have no reason to fall asleep short of exhaustion and kids develop a high resistance to exhaustion at about 6 months old.
Hope this helps (and sorry it's probably too late)!
Bean
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