Today marks another important family holiday – National Make Your Bed Day! Everything surrounding a bed can be a bit frustrating when it comes to your children – including making it and bedtime itself – so we dedicated this blog to helping you and your little one navigate it all. Here’s a little background on why this day is so important:
At a Behavioral Sleep Medicine Program, participants learn that the sleep environment is a major component to a restful night’s sleep. In a survey conducted by the National Sleep Foundation, people who make their bed daily more often have a better night’s sleep. Fresh sheets, dark and cool rooms, and comfortable mattresses and pillows also play a factor in mastering sleep comfort.
Starting the day with at least one ‘chore’ already done and dusted creates a more positive attitude and can help you take the rest of the day’s challenges in your stride. As the bed is the focal point of the bedroom, when it’s made, the whole room looks tidier, and becomes more relaxing and less stressful as a result. So, rather than leaping out of bed and into the fray leaving behind a tangled mass of procrastination, use Make Your Bed Day to start a new habit.
Tips and Tricks
Getting your child to make their own bed everyday can be a daunting task, but we gathered together some really great tips and tricks to help make it a bit easier that you can facilitate on National Make Your Bed Day.
Give them a bed they will love
If a child has some sheets, a comforter and pillows that they love, then they will naturally want to spend more time in it and make it look nice. Find a bed set with your child’s favorite action hero, TV show characters or movie on it that they will love. Set it up nicely so that they know how it should look while made, and help them along the first few days to a week. During that time, get them hyped up that they will soon be able to do it all by themselves.
Rewards, rewards, rewards
If it’s hard to get your child to make his or her bed, add it to their chore chart or chore list and give them rewards. Consider an extra snack during the day, 15 extra minutes of screen time, or even money or candy to help entice them to stay on track.
Be persistent
As we know, children thrive on routines and if there’s any cracks, they will become more relaxed. Make sure you commit to checking their bed, or asking them if they’ve made their bed, every single day. If they’re able to get away with it once without mention, then they will try again and the habit will be lost.
Bed Tents
A great way to help your child want to make their bed, as well as stay in it when it’s bed time, is by using a bed tent!
Rad Racer Bed Tent
Our Rad Racer Bed Tent encourages imaginations at any time of the day. The easy-to-assemble lightweight frame supports a colorful nylon shell that has a wide, double-zippered T-style door.
The Rad Racer Bed Tent provides a secure play area during the day, and a one of a kind sleep experience at night. A treat for any imaginative child, it even has a sewn-in interior accessory pocket for flashlights, books or whatever else! In two sized, it can fit any standard size twin or full size bed. Nylon storage bag included.
This bed tent is unique because it has an special area where your child can write their name on the tent!
Cottage Bed Tent
How much fun would it be to say sweet dreams in your very own Cottage Bed Tent? With flower boxes and a picket fence, roof windows and side windows, it will be just like sleeping in the country with all of the singing birds.
Full curtain front doors and soft colors make this a very imaginative play environment. You can even play in the tent by placing it on the floor during the day! When bedtime comes and they’ve made their bed for National Make Your Bed Day, simply put the bed tent on top of the mattress! The exterior of the bed tent may be cleaned with a damp cloth and mild soap if necessary. Our poles are safe and easy to use, making set up effortless. We designed it to help you enter dreamland in real country style!
Bedtime Routines
On the topic of beds, bedtime in general can be a huge battle in itself. We all remember doing everything we could to avoid having to go to bed as children, and the FOMO of what might be going on while we’re supposed to be sleeping. Now that we’re parents ourselves and the tables have turned, we’ve gathered some helpful hints to help end the nightly bedtime struggle.
Set bedtimes and wake up times
If kids know when to expect to go to bed, this can make it a little easier to work around. If they go to bed at 8pm every single day, then make sure to start mentioning bedtime about an hour before. Phrases like, “Only an hour before bed!” or, “You have 15 minutes left!” can help them wrap up whatever it is they’re doing, or get any frustration they have out ahead of time.
Do the hard stuff after dinner, instead of right before bed
Doing the typical before bed routine after dinner rather than right before bed can help move things along a little quicker. Things like washing up, brushing teeth and changing into pajamas won’t be dragged out so long to avoid bedtime, and they will correlate it more with dinner time instead of bed time.
Keep water by their bedside
This is probably one of the most classic excuses for getting out of bed, so why not end it? Limiting excuses at bedtime can help a child stay in bed, such as keeping a glass of water by their bedside, or whatever other reason your child might get out constantly. This limits trips to the kitchen, as well as limiting reasons for children to not have to go to sleep yet.
Make sure they’re getting plenty of exercise
Aside from simply just not wanting to go to bed, there might be a deeper reason that your child constantly doesn’t want to go to bed. Make sure your child is getting plenty of exercise during the day, especially after they come home from school, so they are getting their energy out. If they come home from school and are in front of screens, this could be a major reason they have a hard time falling asleep.
Let us know!
Does your child make their own bed yet? Do you have some extra tips or tricks that have worked for you and your family? Share them in the comments below! Happy National Make Your Bed Day!