About a week and a half ago, things got rough. Okay. They’d been rough for awhile. We’d been in a baaaaaaad pattern of complete and utter horribleness in the bedtime routine. And we needed a change. Something to help the middlest from his nightly meltdowns. His struggle between wanting independence and wanting help and wanting to go batshit crazy about the fact that we’d brushed his teeth from left to right instead of right to left.
I scoured the internet {because the internet basically knows everything. ahem.} and
I could not find one thing that pointed to being useful. We already had a routine. We already gave cues early and often. We were already starting bedtime at a reasonable hour. And we were allowing for him to make his own choices regarding wardrobe and reading material. And yet, we were in a dismal state of affairs.
And then. LIGHTBULB. Do you ever have those lightbulb moments? I decided I’d make him a sticker chart. A chart for each step of bedtime. It might fail. And then I would be in need of two shots that night instead of one. Or it might win. And I would be submitted into the official Mother of the Year contest. It was worth a shot, my friends. Or two.
So I made a super fancy, pinteresty chart. Errrrrrr… I found some rando hideous clipart on the interwebs. I plopped them in a chart. Printed that bad boy. And presented it to the middlest. And it was met with much excitement.
But I’m no dummy. I knew it couldn’t be that easy.
But it was. At least, so far.
So far, he’s gotten his stickers every night. And the very bestest part of the entire chart ditty? The very last sticker he can earn is for staying “calm and cool” throughout the whole process. And because he now knows “calm and cool” we are having some success using that same verbiage throughout the day.
Now, the chance of this completely backfiring tonight as I’ve now shared my secret to curing bedtime battles with the world, are basically at 99.6%. But hey, we’ve had a good run. It was fun while it lasted.
But seriously, life. changing. people. I kid you not.
AAAAAAAND… we’ve been accident free since the Old Navy poopcident. So basically, the middlest is rocking at life right now. And I am pleased as punch.
So what’s on the chart, you may ask… well, all of the tasks that go into our longstanding bedtime routine:
+ Toy Box = Toys Away
+ Blanket = Blanket Upstairs and In Bed
+ Pajamas = Pick out pajamas. Put clothes in hamper.
+ Toilet = Use The Potty.
+ Toothbrush = Brush Teeth.
+ Sunglass Emoji = Calm and Cool through the whole process.
Not only has this alleviated any major go-to-town tantrums, it has also helped speed up the bedtime process giving us more time to read/snuggle/giggle/cuddle and actually enjoy it because we aren’t jonesing for liquor to take the edge off. So all in all, I am calling this: The Chart That Changed Bedtime. At least for now. And hey, sometimes at least for now is all you really need.
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