Counting down to bedtime

Stairs provide an easy way to count on the way to bed, and you could try different types of numbers to get them thinking - for example, one night try ‘1, 2, 3...’ and the next night try ‘first, second, third…’ When they get really confident, start counting backwards from 10.

Before bed, help your child read the time and talk about when you’re going to get up. You could help your little sleepyhead work out how many hours sleep they’ll have before they need to rise and shine. You could use a clock face or your fingers to help you count the hours together.

Just bring your phone or an egg timer to tooth-brushing time. Encourage your child to set the timer for two minutes before they start brushing their teeth. Then get them to brush their top teeth for 30 seconds, then their bottom teeth for 30 seconds - and then repeat. Job done.