Feet On The Bed Time

By Anonymous -
My passion is working with adolescents but I also work with adults and a common struggle I have heard is never having down time due to the constant needs of family. Having kids and a family can be wonderful but it can also be very draining if you are not getting the rest you need. When kids don't get enough down time they can become cranky, overtired, and generally difficult to handle. When adults don't get enough rest, patience is more difficult, stress levels rise, and managing even simple tasks can be a chore. There are many ways that this can be addressed but my favorite way and a fairly effective intervention is implementing feet on the bed time in your household.

Feet on the bed time is exactly what it sounds like. It is a given period of time each day during which your feet must be on your bed (and preferably the rest of you). Each family member is to be on their own bed for whatever amount of time you decide engaging in a quiet activity or napping. Obviously each family will have to do their own tweaking to find the time period and perimeters that work best for your needs but that is the general idea. Children of appropriate age need to be on their own bed not their parents bed so that both parties can get some downtime. This time period can be used for napping but present it to your children as quiet time for all of you; they can nap if they chose but they may also make bracelets, color, read, write a funny story, or anything else they can think of as long as it is quiet, does not involve technology, and they remain on the bed the entire time.

There may be some resistance at first but once it becomes part of your family routine both you and your child will look forward to this time because it will help you re-energizer for the rest of the day and enjoy each others company and whatever other activities you have planned for the day. While I would like to take credit for this idea I actually got it from a camp that I work at each summer. Camp Kesem implements this at each camp site every summer to ensure that counselors do not burn out and that kids are able to rest and enjoy all that camp has to offer without getting overtired. Every afternoon every camper and counselor is on their bed for one hour napping or engaging in a quiet activity on their own. It is a great tool to help your family function well and enjoy life even more.

Feel free to leave comments and let us know how feet on the bed time is working for your family!!

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