Bed is for sleeping and for adults, certain pleasurable activities, but nothing else. Do not watch TV in bed. Do not be on your computer in bed. Do not talk on the phone in bed. Do not use your smart phone in bed, etc. Do not read in bed. You want the primary cue to your brain and body when you go to bed to be SLEEP! Never underestimate the power of natural cues, (music, TV, telephone, computer, games, etc.) that tell a child or an adult that it's time to sleep or time to play or be involved in some other activity. You want the cues associated with being in bed to be all about going to sleep.
If you or your child have been doing something different,
perhaps for years, do not expect the cues to change overnight. Do not expect someone else to be happy about
losing access to a favorite activity in bed.
You may have to make slow adjustments. Make sure they have access outside of bed and
in bed for a limited time, then gradually reduce their access time in bed. Comfort items, such as a blankie, teddy bear,
or other comfort items are great…and even greater if eventually they only have
these at bedtime, because they become another cue, that it’s time to go to bed
and time to go to sleep.
You want the cues associated with the bedroom to be all about sleep.
Click here to continue the series: Do not watch TV in your bedroom or use it as an office or for a computer room. System desensitization or successive approximation may need to be used here too.
System desensitization and successive approximation are important
concepts where you slowly make adjustments and even reward appropriate
responses to those adjustments. This
often works much better than rapidly making huge changes to routines, children
and teens, almost always, and often yours too.
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