If you’ve been reading my blog for a while, you probably know that music plays an important role in our family’s morning routine. Well, it doesn’t end there. I often use music to help my kids fall asleep more quickly, and the secret goes beyond just turning on some soft lullabies.
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For a while I couldn’t turn music on at bedtime at all. You see, my kids LOVE music and they always want to know the title of a song they like so that they can request it some other time. This means that they would often get out of bed to see the title of whatever song is playing (I use this to my advantage in the morning, when I need my kids to wake up, but it’s not helpful at bedtime). Another problem was that the kids would stay awake to hear the next song, because they enjoy music so much.
I tried all genres of music: Classical, lullabies, church music, soft rock, you name it. Same result.
Then one evening, The Professor requested Silent Night. I pulled it up on my Amazon Music app and noticed that there were a million versions of Silent Night, so I just scrolled to the first song on the list and let it fly.
Then the magic happened.
The kids were quickly lulled to sleep listening to the same song over and over. No popping out of bed to see the title of the song, because they already knew it. No staying awake to hear the next song, because they knew what it would be.
Simple, but effective!
But the beauty of it was that, since each version was slightly different, it didn’t drive anyone crazy to listen to the same song over and over.
So ever since that fateful night, I use this trick when the kids need a little extra help getting to sleep more quickly (like after a really eventful evening with a late bedtime).
Here are a few tips if you want to give this trick a try:
- USE AMAZON MUSIC – In my opinion, having access to a streaming service without commercials is the key to this working well. I use Amazon Music because it is free with my subscription to Amazon Prime. { Try Amazon Prime 30-Day Free Trial
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Just download the app onto your phone, log in, and you’ll be all set to go. You can also stream Amazon Music through an Amazon Fire TV Stick and, I’m assuming, any of those fancy Amazon home devices. Before I had a nice Bluetooth speaker, I just laid my phone in the hallway between the two bedrooms. Now I use the JBL Charge 3 in the hallway (it is an AWESOME speaker), but my goal is to have several of the smaller JBL speakers that link together, so each bedroom can have its own speaker.
- MAKE SURE YOU USE THE SONG LIST – When you search for a song on Amazon music, the top results will show first, followed by artists, then albums, and then finally songs. That last song list is what you want.
- LET THE KIDS CHOOSE THE SONG – If they are only listening to one song, I think it’s nice to let them choose what it will be. At our house, my only rules are that the song has to have at least five versions on Amazon Music and it needs to be fairly slow and quiet. If letting the kids choose causes too much headache, either narrow the choices or choose yourself.
- STAY CLOSE – In the list of the various song versions, there might be a random one that is too upbeat to lull the kids to sleep. Just keep your phone or remote close so that you can quickly skip past that one.
So there you have it – – my secret to helping kids fall asleep more quickly. If you decide to give it a try, I’d love to hear how it works at your house!
What do YOU do to help your kids fall asleep more quickly? Share your tips in the comments below!