Precious Moments at Bedtime

Proverbs 3:24 "When thou liest down, thou shalt not be afraid: yea, thou shalt lie down, and thy sleep shall be sweet."

I have often heard the horror stories that mothers tell about conniving Johnny and his bedtime escapades! He doesn't want to go to bed so he conjures up every excuse in the book to keep the day alive and to keep mama and daddy hopping at his every beck and call! Johnny… from his bed….is commanding the home.

Whether the parents realize it or not, they are training Johnny in the way that he will go.

Sleep is a very precious thing….to Johnny and to his parents! One of the things I miss most about raising my children is our "bedtime ritual". As they grew older and the responsibilities of our life in the ministry and our overall "family busy-ness" intruded on our established night time routine as a family, I remember feeling like I was being robbed.

I was.

When my children were young and throughout their elementary years, I worked hard to protect the time from supper to bedtime. Indeed…it took great effort to let nothing infringe on the bath time and story/devotion/talk time with our children. I still remember the scent of freshly shampooed and bathed children! (Never, never, ever let your children climb into bed with the day's dirt and grime on their skin and clothes. You might as well let them sleep in the sand box out back with the other snaps and snails and puppy dog tails! Those things have no business sleeping with your child at night.)

As I sit on the edge of my "empty nest", I remember well the years of slowing life down in the evenings, so my children would be prepared for sleep time. It all began with a pleasant bath time! My children had a menagerie of tub toys and bath time was never a drudgery. As every mom knows….there is nothing like a warm bath to relax you. Warm water, bubbles and some tub toys is relaxation time for your child! It is wonderful preparation time for sleep! Too many parents are in a hurry to get the kids into bed and settle in to what they have to do. Often there is yelling, harsh verbal orders and scrambling to hurry up and get in bed, accompanied by crying children who don't want to go to bed! In the same way you can't just shut off the day and climb in bed…neither can your children.

What a horrible way to end the day! There is no love and bonding in this kind of bedtime experience!

Take the time out of your life to make a precious moment every night for your child. Ask your husband to join you in this process. Make it a routine. Make it a life time memory. You will find that the time you take with your children now for the quiet things in life, will be the glue that holds you together in love and unity-- later in life.

We build a life by precious moments at bedtime!

What can you do?

1. Begin early preparing for bedtime. Start at suppertime by quiet conversation that shows that you are interested in your child's life.

2. Discipline yourself to shut down your day early so the evening can be dedicated to your child's needs….(homework, story time/devotions and cuddling)

3. See that your child bathes (this relaxes his body) and that you have time to read, talk and pray together.

4. Cuddle them as you tuck them in. Tell them you love them…and mean it. Their spirit will remember…..

5. Be pleasant about this ritual. You are preparing your child for the next day…..at bedtime the night before.

Deuteronomy 11:19 "And ye shall teach them your children, speaking of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, when thou liest down, and when thou riseth up."

Bless your children with precious moments at bedtime and sweet sleep…