{"id":2325,"date":"2016-08-18T13:35:55","date_gmt":"2016-08-18T17:35:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/parenttraining.chip.uconn.edu\/?page_id=2325"},"modified":"2026-02-16T19:01:09","modified_gmt":"2026-02-17T00:01:09","slug":"6-activities-for-waking-up-and-going-to-sleep","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/parenttraining.chip.uconn.edu\/index.php\/6-activities-for-waking-up-and-going-to-sleep\/","title":{"rendered":"Games For Bedtime"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

1. THE \u201cUP\u201d ROUTINE FOR LEARNING THE WORD \u201cUP\u201d<\/b><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Waking in the morning or after a nap is a great time to practice the word \u201cup.\u201d When you walk in and see your child standing in her crib, give her a warm smile to show how happy you are to see her. Then reach out your arms and say, \u201cUp?!\u201d in a happy, questioning, or rising tone of voice. If she doesn\u2019t raise her arms, then use a physical prompt to help her raise her arms in a movement that means \u201cPick me up\u201d or \u201cI want up.\u201d Make sure you have her eye contact just before you lift her out of the crib. Then immediately pick her up and give her a warm hug. Do this often when she wakes in the morning as well as when she wakes from her naps. Before long, she should be raising her arms on her own and looking right at you when she wants to get out of her crib. If she is able to imitate sounds or words, you can also try to work on having her say the word \u201cup\u201d just before you pick her up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. GOODNIGHT ROUTINE FOR<\/b> LEARNING THE NAMES OF FAVORITE TOYS AND PEOPLE<\/b><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\"Used<\/a>
Pixabay<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Bedtime routines are a good idea for all children. Consistent, nightly routines can help children wind down and make bedtime feel safe and comforting. Here are some ideas to include in your child\u2019s bedtime routine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Have your child give goodnight kisses or hugs to any of her family members before she goes to bed. Make up a routine for saying goodnight at bedtime using each person\u2019s name twice. For example, kiss all family members and stuffed animals good night saying \u201ckiss brother, goodnight brother, kiss Daddy, goodnight Daddy\u201d and so on. When you get to where your child\u2019s bed is, keep it going by walking around the room and stopping in front of your child\u2019s favorite stuffed animals or toys to give them goodnight kisses. And she can collect a few stuffed animals along the way to bring with her into the bed. If you do that, have her kiss the stuffed animals good night, but be sure to take them out of her crib before she goes to sleep. Experts think that soft things like stuffed animals and blankets might block the baby\u2019s breathing, especially before her second birthday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3. THE JELLY ROLL GAME FOR WORKING ON SOCIAL INTERACTION<\/b><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Another activity that many children like a lot is when a parent wraps them up in a blanket like a jelly roll and then pretends to eat them. Of course, you always want to make sure that your child\u2019s head and face are not covered by the blanket so that she can breathe freely!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another way to make a game with a blanket is by bringing a blanket to your child, having her sit on it on the floor, and pulling the blanket, and her with it, around the room. You can stop a few times and prompt her to say \u201cgo\u201d or to make a sign for go before pulling her some more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then when you get to the bed, tell her you are going to make a sweet jelly roll, using her name in place of the word jelly. For example, you could say, \u201cI\u2019m going to make a sweet, sweet, Sarah Roll and I\u2019m going to eat it ALL UP!\u201d As you say this, wrap her up in the blanket and then pretend you are going to eat her up, making all sorts of chomping noises and saying \u201cMmmmm! Delicious!\u201d She\u2019ll love it!<\/p>\n\n\n