Bedtime Routine
A calm sequence of pictures that moves the evening toward bed — bath, pajamas, book, lights out — without a battle at each step.
- Category · Daily Life & Independence
- Routine/Schedule
- Ages · Early childhood · Elementary
- Home
Bedtime is a sequence, and sequences are easier when they are always the same. A calm, predictable wind-down helps your child’s body and brain get ready to sleep.
Build the sequence
- Choose five or six steps and keep them in the same order: bath, pajamas, teeth, book, lights out.
- Use pictures for the steps so your child can see what comes next.
- Keep the routine the same length every night — consistency matters more than perfection.
Make it calm
- Slow the pace as you move through the steps — quiet voices, dim lights.
- Let your child move the marker or check off each step.
- If a step gets skipped or rushed, start again the next night without commentary.
The Toolkit Plus version builds the routine around your child’s own pictures and your family’s real wind-down.
Versions include picture plus word, picture-only, word-based, a blank board to make your own, and a personalized Toolkit Plus version.