Dad here. I love putting my kid to bed. For nearly a year she only wanted mommy to do it. But she asks for me mostly now, and I’ve been soaking it up. I love reading books. I love singing her to sleep. I love the little tired conversations.
I don’t love all the attempts to delay bedtime… but we’ve got a decent routine that’s taken most of the fights out of it.
I just wanted to share while I’m still feeling the glow of a successful putdown.
I hope y’all feel that joy when you can. Stay safe out there.
My son is nearing the age where he won’t want to fall asleep with us anymore. Savour it while it lasts, you don’t get a lot of years to do it.
READ TO YOUR KIDS!!! I read to my 3 younger girls, the oldest is 11 (the rest are all school age)
We have kept bed time routine in tact (during the school year)
Its an opportunity to just hangout, most nights we read but some nights we run down a YouTube rabbit hole. Or the girls just fall asleep talking to me about whatever is on their minds.
We have read since 2021
Most of the Harry Potter books
The Hunger Games
Freak The Mighty
Max The Mighty
The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy
The Martian
The Restaurant at the End of the Universe
Holes
Small Steps
Maniac Magee
Hoot
Dory Fantasmagory
Hail Mary
Space Cat
The Fighting Ground
and some others I know I am missing.
Some of my picks are obviously not kid’s books but I had a thing where as my younger kids fell asleep I would read whatever I was reading or was cool to me out loud to the remaining kids and they really loved some of them.
That has shifted a bit and I now keep a few books in rotation.
to all the kids I am currently reading Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. when my youngest falls asleep then I pick up Kiki’s Delivery Service when the next oldest kid falls asleep its time for The Hunger Games
It’s a bit selfish but I found that I can keep my momentum going with the routine myself by ensuring I read things that are interesting to me. I also get the kids more excited by being genuinely excited myself to read.
Its quite amazing to feel strong emotions about the books with my girls and everyone should try to experience that in my opinion.
I also typically read a book exactly as written. Except in the case of The Martian. My kids preferred that I read that with a silly soundboard to lessen the language (at their request).
Oh, if you haven’t yet, you need to read them Equal Rites and The Wee Free Men by Terry Pratchett, and also The Amazing Maurice…!
Thanks for the suggestions, I will consider that!