I try to spend a little quiet time with each child before they go to bed. I’ll admit that some nights are chaotic when we all get home from the kids’ sporting events late and we struggle to get everyone bathed and to bed on time. Still, most nights I can manage to keep things calm and organized. When I stick to our bedtime routine, the kids feel confident and calm; they know what to expect and they go to sleep easily.

Part of our bedtime routine includes making sure all issues are resolved before tucking the kids in. If any of them have worries or concerns about something that happened during the day, I like to talk to them about it, work things out and put their minds at rest.

If the little ones are worried about monsters in their closet or the boogey man outside their window, I try to put their fears at ease by reassuring them their room is far too messy for any monster to enter. If that doesn’t work, I’ll turn on the lights and make a big show of looking under their bed and in their closet to make sure there are no monsters present. I have a friend who goes so far as to give her daughter a spray bottle full of “Monster Be Gone” (water) that she can spray around the room to ward off any creatures.

Back when I had a child who had bedwetting issues, I made sure he had his GoodNites® Underpants on, so he could go to bed with confidence that he wouldn’t wake up in the middle of the night and need a change of clothes or bedding. I knew he’d wake up in the morning, after a restful night’s sleep and still be dry, comfortable and confident.