Lately, getting my kids to bed has turned into an exhausting struggle. They used to go down pretty easily, but now it feels like every night there’s a new excuse or delay tactic. I’ve tried sticking to a strict routine, cutting screen time an hour before bed, and even reading calming stories, but nothing seems to fully work. It’s frustrating because everyone ends up tired and cranky the next morning, and I’m running low on patience. I’m wondering if there’s something I’m missing or if this is just a phase that needs to run its course. Has anyone found simple, effective tricks to make bedtime smoother without turning it into a power struggle? Would love to hear what’s worked for you when your kids suddenly resist bedtime. How do you keep evenings calm and get them to sleep on time?

On 12/02/2025 at 10:35 PM, Alice said:

Lately, getting my kids to bed has turned into an exhausting struggle. They used to go down pretty easily, but now it feels like every night there’s a new excuse or delay tactic. I’ve tried sticking to a strict routine, cutting screen time an hour before bed, and even reading calming stories, but nothing seems to fully work. It’s frustrating because everyone ends up tired and cranky the next morning, and I’m running low on patience. I’m wondering if there’s something I’m missing or if this is just a phase that needs to run its course. Has anyone found simple, effective tricks to make bedtime smoother without turning it into a power struggle? Would love to hear what’s worked for you when your kids suddenly resist bedtime. How do you keep evenings calm and get them to sleep on time?

That phase is so tough—I’ve definitely been there! Sometimes, even with routines and no screens, kids just find new ways to stall. One thing that helped me was introducing a “quiet time” before bed where they could pick a calm activity in their room, like puzzles or coloring, instead of jumping straight to lights out. It gave them a sense of control and slowed things down naturally.

Also, I found that tweaking the bedtime a little earlier or later by 15 minutes made a difference depending on how tired they really were. Kids can be sneaky about hiding their tiredness until they’re overtired and cranky. It’s not a magic fix, but it eased the tension a bit in our house. Hang in there—it’s exhausting, but this phase usually passes!