Always End the Day on a High Note

My wife and I have found that creating a regular nighttime schedule for our kids is the key to a happy bed time process. Around 7:00 PM is jammy time, followed by relaxing in the living room. If the day has been filled with too much driving time, then relax time is instead substituted with "get the sillies out" time. At 8:00 we head upstairs for story time. During story time, I either read a book or we sit around and tell a story whereas each of us gives one line of the story at a time and we take turns. The kids seem to love our story time and the stories we tell tend to get a bit silly. These definitely aren't the types of stories you'd see in a children's book as they are way too disconnected. But who cares, they're fun to tell and the kids enjoy it.

We do this everyday. We start in R & H's room, do story time, say goodnight, give hugs and kisses, say "I love you", then take N & W to their room. We read a good toddler book and say goodnight, give hugs and kisses, say "I love you", then head downstairs. Now, of course, I keeps my wife (and sometimes me) busy with feeding and general newborn shenanigans.

The thing is, this is what we do every night to end every day on a high note. No matter what the kids did that day, no matter how many times they got in trouble, no matter how many stupid things they did, and no matter how much time they were forced to spend in their bedroom, we always finish our day the same way. Of course, sometimes we're up really late due to whatever activity is going on and story time is cut short; but for the most part it's always the same (although the stories vary quite a bit).

This is our little way of reminding our children of how important they are to us, how much we love each and every one of them, and that no matter what they do, we still love them as much as we did when they woke up that morning. In a way, I think this helps us get through all the shenanigans because our children know that we are there to tuck them in at night, no matter what.

I have no proof of this, but I think this regular nightly routine also helps to breed a happy household. With five kids in the house, it's conceivable that one could feel left out on any given day. But no matter how much attention each one gets that day, they all get the same attention at night as we sit in a circle and tell a story about sharks, poop, eating people, turning into animals, and getting run over by cars.

Yep, those are some memorable stories!