When Your Child Refuses to Go to Bed: 10 Tips for a Peaceful Bedtime Routine

There are many studies that show the difficulties children with ADHD - and their parents- face at bedtime. Typically, the child's ADHD medication has worn off, causing his symptoms to reappear, often with a vengeance. As he becomes more hyperactive and impulsive, his body needs just the opposite: rest!

What is a parent to do?

10 Tips for Getting Your Child to Bed

1. Insist that all electronics and other stimulating toys and activities stop one hour before bedtime.

   2.  Have a schedule and stick to it with rare exceptions. Post the schedule (in more 

        than one place). For younger children, use diagrams or pictures from magazines.

        Clearly state each step of the bedtime routine:

• What time the child must stop playing
• Any chores needed to be done (i.e. putting toys away)
• Snack time, if needed
• Wash up, brush teeth, shower
• Change into pajamas
• Lights out

    3.  Warm milk, warm bathes- they really do work.

    4. Even older children love one on one time with parents, whether it's reading a book

        together, or sharing the day's activities. Even many teenagers find this time together

        calming and special.

    5.  Reward your child for every positive move in the right direction. For younger

         children, keep a jar and add coins to it every time he follows the bedtime schedule.  

    6.  Remember that children with ADHD get bored with routines quickly and though you

        want to try and make them the same each night, you'll need to be creative in making 

        that happen. Once, I was so desperate to get my child to bed, I turned it into a

        Scavenger Hunt. I wrote each bedtime step on an index card and hid them. Each

        contained a clue where to find the next card, plus instructions on what needed to be

        done to get ready for bed. Another parent wrote all the bedtime routines on her

        child's bathroom mirror using whiteboard markers. Think of other creative, novel ways

        to keep your child on track.

    7.  Get help! There was a time when things were so difficult in my home, that I hired a

         sitter a few nights a week to help me. It truly saved my sanity. Insist that your

         spouse/partner also help. Consider trading off bedtime and morning responsibilities

         with your partner so neither of you becomes burned out.