Gitte Winter Graugaard
International bestselling author and expert in peaceful bedtime routines
Gitte writes books for children filled with magical meditations that help them find peace in the evenings at bedtime and sleep better. She is passionate about teaching children to navigate from their hearts and understand their beautiful inner landscape. When we know our inner landscape, so much in life becomes much easier...
How to create a peaceful bedtime routine
Help your child to sleep and create that special bond that you will cherish forever.
Three steps to create a peaceful bedtime routine
Bedtime routines are challenging in many families. When our bedtime routines aren’t working out, we as parents often get worried, frustrated and even angry before, during and after bedtime. It is so exhausting to deal with children who won’t sleep night after night. Especially when it is obvious that the child needs to sleep more to get through the day.
In this blog, I present three steps for you to inspire you to create a loving peaceful bedtime routine. It might come as a surprise to you that it has to do more about you than your child.
The key to a peaceful bedtime routine is to be found in the parent.
Step 1: Become aware of your energy
To begin with, it’s all about becoming aware of how you feel and which energy you are loaded with before and during bedtime. Try asking yourself the following questions:
- What are your expectations for the upcoming bedtime?
- Which thoughts go through your mind when you think about bedtime in your home?
- How does the current bedtime situation affect you?
- How do you feel if bedtime turns into craziness?
- Where in your body can you can feel your irritation, frustration, anger, sadness etc.?
- How does it feel?
Pay attention to your body and get to know where your emotions typically emerge in your body. Feel into them.
Step – 2 Find your energy switch
Once you become more conscious and aware of your energy and what you radiate, the trick is to find your switch. Mindfulness is a very efficient tool that can make a HUGE difference in creating your switch.
Mindfulness teaches us to observe ourselves with an open and non-judgemental mind. You learn to be aware of where your focus is, and whether your focus is good for you. For instance, if your attention is on a thought that the upcoming bedtime will become tough, you can stop and realize that you have this focus.
Once you become conscious of your focus you can shift your attention to a desire to help your child to sleep. It is important that your switch is filled with self-love. Instead of beating yourself up because of your thoughts and emotions, try to be good to yourself so that you can make it a lovely bedtime for both you and your child.
Pay attention to where your awareness is. Where attention goes, energy flows.
Step 3 – Practice and turn up
Once you’ve gotten to know your attention switch, you can view it as a muscle that needs to be exercised. While you practice your energy switch, be curious, play with it, observe it, and turn your energies up and down. It is like becoming a master energy detective in your own life. Turn up the volume of things, activities, and people who fill you with energy and turn down those who drain you.
It takes training like everything else in life. However, often step 1 of this three-stage exercise – becoming aware of your attention – is enough for us to start seeing significant differences in our relationships.
And this applies not only for our children, but in all other relationships as well. The reason why our children often drive us crazy is precisely because they are master detectives of our energies and our energies reflect in their behaviour. Luckily this also goes for when we are happy and excited.
Pay attention to where you get energy and where you loose it.
Do you want an automatic switch?
Still not sure how to do it? We offer you an automatic switch!
To help you out with the switch I have written “The Children’s Meditations: In My Heart”. It has helped thousands of families find their switch. Many parents write to me that the book is magical and has made a huge difference to their bedtime routines as well as to the well-being of their children with less stress, less temper and less anxiety.
“The Children’s meditations In my heart” creates your automatic “switch”.
The book is all about the great love in your family. As a parent you relax while you read it. While you read this special book to your child/children the little master detective senses that mum or dad is having a great time, and when mum or dad begins to relax the little master detective relaxes and falls asleep much easier.
The master detective’s reaction will be something like this “I can feel mum/dad is relaxed/ mindful/ loving/ caring/ calm. I love this feeling. It makes me feel very loved and safe. Now I can calm down. There is nothing mysterious going on in my parent’s energies that I need to interpret and react to. Now I can concentrate on my-self. And when I concentrate on my-self, I feel that my body is tired. Very tired after a long day of being a master detective. I think I will take little nap.”
This is the reason why so many children fall asleep during the meditations. And if they do – please keep on reading – they can still sense your energies while they sleep.
I wish you all the best finding your switch and creating a loving bedtime routine in your family. You are very welcome to share your thoughts or ask questions below.
All children deserve to go to bed and fall asleep with their heart full of love.
