*This is a collaborative post
Bath, Book, Bed Routine with the Book Trust
Regular readers of my blog will know that books are a big thing in our house. I think reading with young children is so important and we introduced books to them at a very young age. The same actually goes with a bedtime routine.
When a baby is small, I kind of go with a flow for a while, there’s breastfeeding and bonding that needs to be established first. Plus, if you have more than one child, the evenings are a nice time to have some one on one cuddles with your baby.
However, with both of my children there came a time when I knew it was right to establish a bedtime routine, and it is one we have stuck to ever since. Just as the title, and the Book Trust suggests we bath our children, read a book to them and them put them to bed.
About the Bath, Book, Bed Campaign
The Bath, Book and Bed campaign is one that the BookTrust started three years ago with Super Nanny Jo Frost.
The BookTrust is the UK’s largest children’s reading charity. They work to inspire a love of reading in children because they know that reading can transform lives. Each year they reach 3.4 million children across the UK with books, resources and support to help develop a love of reading.
All parents know just how hard it is to go without sleep, so Bath, Book and Bed campaign is a simple solution is a way of encouraging children into a soothing bedtime routine. No gadgets or gizmos. It’s also a great way to start reading with your children from a young age and also encourages a love of books.
Our Bath, Book Bed Routine
Our bath, book bed routine got a little challenged when Aria was a baby and we she was diagnosed with quite bad eczema. The eczema nurse advised me not to bath her everyday which meant that I needed to adapt the routine a little. It means we only bath every other night, and on the nights we don’t bath we just have a nice wash in the sink and the carry on with the routine as usual.
We have also added something additional into the campaign in that after I have tucked each child into bed they each get their own nursery rhyme sung to them of their choice. Again this is something I have done to them when they were small.
But other than that we pretty much stick to the simple bath, book and bed routine and my children always love the reading time together.
Gratitude Diaries
When my son started school, he started to get a lot of nightmares. I have been writing a gratitude diary for a while so I decided to try and adapt this for Logan. At bedtime we started talking about ‘3 good things’ that had happened that day to help remember good things to dream about instead. The idea of it really caught on and before long both children wanted to do it religiously at bed time. The things they choose are often adorable, but also quite humbling. From cuddles, to what they had at dinner it’s always love to find out what their favourite thing of the day is.
For the Book Trust we decided to get a bit crafty. Now, I’m not that crafty but I thought it would be really lovely to make journals for my children to keep the details of their daily 3 good things in. So that in the future we can look back on all of the things that made them happy.
We started very simple with an A5 notebook in colour of their choice and they set about decorating them – mainly with stickers. Dinosaurs and cats for Logan. Cats, princesses and unicorns for Aria. They really enjoyed doing them and spent a lot of time and care putting them together.
Straight away afterwards they wanted to write their three good things in them and have done them every night. Logan writing his own and at the moment I am writing them for Aria. I will have to share with you how they are doing with them a few months down the line.
Bath, Book, Bed Twitter Party
Did you know that new parents lose out on an average of 650 hours sleep per year? That’s a lot of a sleep! If you would like to ask and exchange advice on your bedtime routine make sure to join the Twitter part on the 11th April between 8 and 9 pm. Simple use the hashtag #BathBookBed to join. There will also be a chance to win prizes too.
Giveaway
I also have a giveaway for readers of my blog. One lucky reader will win the following items:
- 1x Pippa Pig Book
- 1x Peppa Pig Toothbrush
- 1x Peppa Pig Toothpaste
- 1x Peppa Bubble Bath
- 1x Bath, Book, Bed booklet
- 2x Best Bedtime Books
To be in with a chance of winning simply enter below.
*Terms and conditions: One winner will win one goody bag from the BookTrust as listed above. The winner will receive two books from the BookTrust’s Bedtime 2018 list at random, not necessarily the ones pictured above. Open to UK entrants only. Giveaway closes on 7th May 2018. The winner will be chosen randomly and contacted via email. If the winner does not respond to the email in two weeks, a new winner will be randomly chosen.
Oh the gratitude diaries are such a great idea. This is inspiring and something I want to do with Sylvia. I do love your photos.
A bath, a hot drink, a story and then bed.
I agree, a good routine is so important, Eden wouldn’t let me put her to bed without a story and this love of books means she has excelled learning to read 🙂
Eden also writes her favourite thing of the day in a journal and draws a picture… it’s so lovely isn’t it. I quite like the idea of writing 3 good things ?
bath, cup of warm hot chocolate and a bedtime story x
Bath, warm drink, story, bed!
I read to my children before bed and we sing a couple of nursery times before they drift off to sleep.
After dinner, it is bath time, milk, cuddles and story before bed
Bath story bottle and bed
Bath, bottle in the bedroom and sleep
Mine have a bath story cuddles and bed
BATH bed book cuddles night night
Bath, snuggles, and a book in bed.xxx
Bath, book, hugs and bed
Bath followed by a good story
I don’t have any children but would love to win this prize to donate to charity, to go to Romania (except the books which I will donate locally).
Reading time and cuddles and then bedtime.
bath.bed and a story
I love the idea of a gratitude diary, my daughter gets bad dreams sometimes so I might suggest that to her! #KLTR
Bath, Supper / snack, storybook, bed.
Bath, a milky drink, a story then sleep.
Bath, book and bed, with the younger one having some warm milk too.
The kids have some milk, then brush their teeth, have a story & lights out!
love the sound of the 3 best bits. a
i think I may try this with my eldest
Pyjamas some chilled out time then cuddles (and milk for littlest) kisses and bed.
We are traditional , bath, milk, story and bed
bath or wash, pj’s on and a cuddle on my lap downstairs for the start of a bedtime story, when I notice the sleepiness, I take her upstairs and put her in her own bed to finish the story, its always a long one so she falls asleep before I leave
Bath story bed
Always send them to sleep with a good book and a nite nite kiss
bath, story and bed 🙂
This would go to my Niece and Nephew, my daughter is 17, our routine used to be bath, pj’s snuggle and chill time x
Milk, bed and a story
Bath times, book and bed?
My little one is not due to arrive until July but will definitely be following a bath, bottle, story routine!
Warm bath and a good book
We put our son in the bath, give him his Vitamin D drops, brush his teeth, change him and we read a book before bed. It’s nice that he expects the same thing every night and can wind down.
Bath, Hot chocolate, books and lots cuddles
Hot shower plus moisturisation
Bath story milk bed
Our bedtime routine is bath, 30 minutes quiet time with a book and then lights out at 8pm latest
Bath, pyjamas, milk, story and bed!
Bath, pyjamas milk teeth snuggles and sleep ?
bedtime routine for my little ones is cuddles, bath, story in bed and one last cuddle before its sleep time!!
Dinner, bath, story and then cuddles
bath, quiet story ,warm drink and bed
Bath, snack and drink then a quiet story xx
Routine the same as most with a bath, book then lights out but I do try to wind everything down as soon as tea is finished. So, lights dimmed, no games and no loud noises.
When my grandchildren come for a sleepover it’s bath, milk, story & bed
Bath milk bed
Bath, story bottle and then bed
bath, read a story with a warm drink then snuggle down to sleep
Bath, pyjamas on, milk, brush teeth, story
Bedtime routine is Milk, wash, change, pyjamas, brush teeth, wash face and big hug.
Bath, book and bed , although my 6 year old has requested a lamp that clips on to her bed so she can read independently at nights for a while too. It arrives tomorrow 🙂
Bath, story and sleep.
A light supper followed by a warm drink.a bath and storytime x
Bath, milk and a bedtime story each
A bath followed my cuddles
wash, brush teeth, story then bed
A bath book and bed 3 B’s ?
A hot chocolate, make a diary entry then read for half an hour.
bottle and cuddles after a bath x
Wind down with a book and a bath x
hot bath, book and bed x
Bath, book, cuddles & sleep.
Our bedtime routine is bath, Book, bed and songs.
I bath my son, brush his teeth and then read him a story in bed
Bath and bed time story x
A bath and a nice relaxing book before bed always does the trick 🙂
We turn technology off, mummy reads a story then J and Daddy race up the stairs, Daddy puts J’s sensory lights on for him and tucks him into bed.
I don’t have any routine, but I do always watch a little TV in bed until I’m ready to drift off.
Gratitude Diary, a personal journal to store those memories seems an absolutely wonderful idea.
It seems that soap products can be quite drying for the skin :- Young skin can be sensitive / precious. Whilst it seems that at the other extreme of the natural lifespan there is the risk of dry skin of old / older age. So hoping that both / all vulnerable groups can access / be given appropriate information / advice / prescribed treatment / s, etc.