Good night

A routine that is so vital to kids is the evening routine. So many parents just send their kids up to bed without a closing of the day. Don't we all want a happy ending? If it's a movie, television show or a book and good ending is appreciated. It's the same with kids and the end of their day.
Since our kids were little we have always had a routine to get them in bed. And we always made it an earlier than later bed time.
We start with a family prayer. (If you are not religious, then just a things we are grateful for today sharing time will work). Then all the kids separate to their rooms and wait for us to come in. Then we ask the question- "What were you're highs and lows for the day?" They then name one or two things that they felt were good about their day and then one or two things that were not so good. This allows them a quick review of their day with us and also allows them to express any concerns with their siblings or friends, sorrow for bad behavior or things they want to work on for the next day.
Then we ask what they want to dream about tonight. Now the night is in there hands. We noticed early on that this alone helped cut down on the nightmares children often have because they go to sleep now thinking of this dream.
Then we have a series of quick answer questions.
We ask /They answer
"Who do we love?" /"Me"
"A little or a lot?" / "A lot"
"For today or forever"/ "Forever"
"Who's the luckiest mom and dad in the world?" / "You are."
"Why?" / "Because you have such great kids."
"Who are..."/ "Going to grow up and do great things in the world."
"Like..." /They say what ever they want.
"Good night, sleep tight." / "Don't let the bed bugs bite."

We do this with each child individually. It takes about two minutes each but it is something we all look forward to. It helps them settle down, relax, have some alone time with us and most importantly ends their day on a great note.
If I'm out of town on work I can still call in and do it and it's lite a hug over the phone.

The last thing we do before we shut doors is we sing a little song. It's a bit cheesy but it is really cute. The song we sing is a prayer. I actually stole it from one of my childhood favorite shows, The Donny and Marie show. It's their ending song, which works as a prayer as well.

"May tomorrow be a perfect day, may you find love and laughter along the way. May God keep you in his tender care, until we're together again. Good night everybody."


Then the doors shut and everyone is down for the night.

Just like in most things kids like routines. It makes thing normal and reliable. This is just one of the systems we have in place for them.
What are some of the systems you have in your family?