Bedtime routines with Jo Frost #BathBookBed

Being a Mum to 5 children means I have endless memories of bedtimes routines. Bedtime is my favourite time of day because it’s full of cuddles, quiet time {most of the time} and getting the chance to read beautiful stories to my little ones before tucking them into bed for the night. It’s a truly precious time of the day and no matter how stressful or hard your day was, I think a good bedtime routine resets it all and gets us ready for the new day that lies ahead.

Chatting Bedtime routines with Jo Frost

Recently I was invited to travel over to London by Tots100 to have a Q&A with Jo Frost, who is not only known worldwide for her Supernanny skills but she is also a global ambassador for the Book Trust and we would be discussing the importance of a good bedtime routine alongside how important it is to read to our children.

I got to meet everyone else at the Library on St.Martins Lane and when I was taken upstairs, from the outside, you wouldn’t think the inside would be so decadent. Because it was. Beautiful books scattered the walls, the endless skylights bringing in the most glorious natural light and cutting the gushing short – everything about the place was an Instagrammers dream! It was a beautiful place for an event.

It was also lovely to finally meet the delightful Hannah from Make, Do and Push and putting a face to the woman behind Pouting in heels, the lovely Kate. It’s always lovely to meet bloggers that you follow so it was especially awesome to meet lots of new ones during this event.

After a chat with the girls, and a lovely brunch we were taken into the green room. This is where we met the lovely Jo Frost. She’s just as you imagine her to be in person. Which is just how she is on TV. She’s a very personable lady, inspirational, impressively knowledgeable and she was honest and real.

It wasn’t long before we were introducing ourselves around the table. Our names, where we blogged from and if any of our children had issues with sleep. Luckily my children all sleep fine. Other than my littlest lady who would have spats of overtiredness and the occasional separation anxiety. But that’s when she is going through a growth spurt. Other ladies around the table had far worse issues with sleep than me. So listening to Jo’s advice to them, to help them, was pretty awesome.

Photo supplied by Tots 100

We were there to not only get some sound advice from Jo but to help promote the latest Book trust national campaign, Bath Book Bed. Having a good bedtime routine is something we have always tried to keep as consistent as possible with our children. Taking that hour to start the wind-down process, after a play-filled day is so needed. And not just for the little one going to bed. I personally love bedtime. The cuddles, the dimmed lights, storytime & brushing their soft hair from their face as I kiss their foreheads ‘Good night’ – it is actual bliss and without a doubt my favourite part of the day.

The Bath, Book & Bed routine

The campaign #BathBookBed provides you with simple steps to a better nights sleep. If you’d like to know more about these simple steps, then you can sign up for a Bath, Book, Bed: 14 Days to better sleep here. Over on the Book trust website, you can also view tips to get your newborn, baby or toddler to sleep as well.

Jo gave us some amazing advice and here are a few of her tips:

If you’re thinking of trying to establish a bedtime routine, work backwards. For example, if your child is getting up at 8am {like my toddler}, then aim to have them in bed at 8pm. This means you’d aim to start your bedtime routine at 7pm.

Find time for your child each day {even if it’s 15mins-20mins} & be consistent with it. Giving your child your time means they’ll give you triple that in return as they pop off to self-play. Think of the first and you’ll get time back to do what you need to do in return {like those dreaded dishes waiting for you in the sink!}.

Read those books! Like I even need to say this to you because I’m sure you love books just as much as us, right? We’ve been reading to the children since they were little babies and every night since. Books are a huge part of our life and it’s amazing when our children develop a love for books too.

Photo taken by Mama Duck Quacks {Thank you!}

Overall…

I came away from the event feeling more knowledgeable before I went in. Even though my children sleep fine through the night. I now know little tips and tricks if anything was to ever change that. Jo’s not an experienced parenting expert for nothing! That lady knows her stuff. She’s able to help you see something because she’s not in the box. 

A huge thank you to Jo Frost for taking the time out to chat with us Mums {also for a signed copy of her new book} & to the Book Trust for the gorgeous bag of books that was kindly gifted to us. Lastly, to Tots100 for inviting me along. It was a great event to be a part of. 

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*This is a collaborative post. All thoughts and opinions are completely my own*