1. Bathe the kids every day.
Children, unless they’ve been rolling in the mud,do not need a bath every day. In the summer I rinse off sand, sweat and sunscreen pretty much daily, but in the winter it just makes their skin dry and rashy. Twice-a-week baths are fine and save me the soggy wrestling match that is washing a screaming toddler and preschooler.
2. Do an elaborate bedtime routine.
Literally everyone told us we needed to do a bedtime routine. Bath, infant massage, dim lights while nursing—this was bad enough and clocked in at about an hour. Now, with our 4-year-old, more rituals have crept in, like:
- sing a song;
- read three books;
- listen to Freight Train Boogie;
- dance;
- play a game he and daddy made up, called “crashies,” in which I always get injured;
- a good-night “wrestle” with his brother;
- tooth-brushing;
- a game called “burrito” in…
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