Restoring Order to the Household

One of the things we struggle with as parents is in instilling personal discipline into family routines.

For eg, Beth has no bedtime routine to speak of. We started out well, with her sleeping on her own bed in her own room as a baby and then a toddler. Then sometime during the 2 years when we had a maid, she fell into the habit of wandering over to our room, and we never managed to get her out of our bed after that. Not only that, she refuses to sleep until we do, which means she goes to bed after 10 pm!

Since coming to Oz, we've all been co-sleeping in the one queen-sized bed. Beth says she's afraid of dreaming of monsters if she sleeps on her own! Bub doesn't yet have her own crib, so imagine the 4 of us having to configure ourselves just so every night so we don't impinge on each other's boundaries (and Bub doesn't get crushed!).

As Beth started kinder this week, the urge to restore some semblance of routine has again become critical. Yesterday provided the perfect breakthrough. Mum had just gone home after 3 weeks, and we had a visit from our friends Tucks & Suan in the evening. In the course of playing with Beth, they learnt about our problem in getting Beth to bed early. They had a chat with her, and managed to wangle a promise out of her to go to bed at 8.30 pm.

It worked a treat!

We all turned in at 8.30 last night and Beth didn't put up a fight. This morning, she rose on her own at 7.30 and was so chirpy, which just proves adequate sleep is a must for every child. Of course, that also means having to start dinner early, so some adjustments will have to be made. Tonight, we had dinner before 7 instead of the usual 8 or 9 pm.

Am really excited about seeing Beth form a new GOOD habit for once!