Connect during Bedtime
Tips for bedtime routine that support language development
Rocky Mountain Deaf School has a brief video discussion on how important it is and what you can do to have a great connection and promote language development with babies, toddlers, and young kids.
Bedtime for any young kid can be a stressful time of the day.
I am one of those mums who believe in routine. I’m not strict with it, but I believe children thrive with a bit of structure to their day. This is why we have put a particular routine in place to help my two CODAs feel safe and comfortable when it comes to going to sleep.
Here are my tips for establishing a bedtime routine for CODA (deaf too) children:
Wind Down Time
After dinner, we tend to have some time in the living room to just have a cuddle in front of the TV which is nice and quiet compared to our usually jam-packed noisy days. I think this quiet time helps ease my kids into calming down before bed.
Short Story
I know some kids are persistent on having 2 or 3 books read to them every night, but after a long, tiring day, my kids are quite happy to have quite a short book sign/read to them or listen through the app (EPIC or other read-aloud apps). Sometimes, they watch signed books on YouTube.
Songs
Sometimes, I let kids pick one song to sing and we sing and sign it quietly together. I try to encourage them not to get too wild and into dancing. My kids love to dance.
Night Light and White Noise
Having a night light isn’t out of the ordinary for any kids, and I added white noise to help my kids sleep without complaining about hearing the noise I made. Before the light is out, my kids like to bless the room with the dreamcatcher and of course a hug, kiss, and "good night."
We have been using this bedtime routine for a really long time now and it helps.
Rima Cornish
Mother of two CODAs
(If any of you want to share your bedtime routine, reach me and I can add some more routine pieces of advice)