How to Maintain Your Child’s Bedtime Routine When Away

Consistency in a bedtime routine is key to getting children into healthy sleep habits and encouraging them to rest when they need it. This can be trickier when away from home though, as the routine can become interrupted by new surroundings and experiences.

However, there are ways to help keep the routine intact and ensure that those habit building steps are upheld with a little bit of forwarding planning.

Keep things in the same order

Just keeping things in the same order can help with that familiarity of an already established routine. Try and keep those activities in place, where possible, and in the same structure and timeframes.

Whether its cuddles and bath before bed or story time before brushing teeth, keep those in their regular order and aim for bedtime within 30 to 45 minutes of when it usually happens.

Bring along comfort items

Trusted and recognisable items can provide comforting sensations from home thus helping ease the transition into a new environment. Bedding and nightlights, even small soft toys, can go a long way to making a new bed seem more homely.

Smells and textures all have an impact on sleep and so the more that you can, practically, bring along, the greater chance you have of inducing a settled night’s sleep.

Tailor the environment as best you can

Taking control of the environment means you can provide the ideal setting for sleep. If possible, bring blackout shades or curtains to darken unfamiliar surroundings, and use white noise to cover outside sounds.

Promote a sleep friendly environment to minimise interference in a routine and the likelihood of something going awry is lessened.

Make the space feel familiar

Spend time in the room before sleeping in it. Quiet playtime or story telling moments help make it feel more identifiable without associating it with too much excitement, making it feel safe and secure without producing any heart-pounding or thrilling moments that will keep children awake.

New surroundings, strange noises and darkness can all make somewhere feel a little scary, so making that room feel a little less out of the norm will hold benefits.

Avoid introducing new habits

Try not to let new habits creep in just because you’re away. Temporary habits can cause disruption and confusion so, where possible, avoid extended screentime or bedsharing just because you’re away.

If you carry the already established habits over, they’re more likely to stick, and continue to do so when you’re home.

Return to regular habits as soon as you can

Once you do get back home, returning to regular habits and resetting straight away helps solidify expectations and makes sure any other habits picked up don’t set in.

Keeping up the routine is what makes it a successful one and breaking it for too long can make it harder to repair down the line.

How a Tonie Lite can help maintain bedtime routines

A portable audio player that can play stories and songs through the additional character and audiobook accessories, a Tonie Lite is perfect for maintaining bedtime habits as it can be used for bedtime stories and other habits.

With a durable shell, it can survive drops and scrapes, perfect for taking with you wherever you go as a recognisable plaything that can help maintain habits and familiarise a space it is put in.

Discover our full Tonies range and pick up story telling characters perfect for bedtime, playtime and more, today.

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