Banned from Bedtime

My husband and I recently took on a noteworthy resolution. We are trying to ban all technology (gasp!) from the bedroom. I was always a "no TV in the bedroom" advocate, so we never had one in there to begin with, yet somehow there is still a desperate need for a tech-fast.

I mean: no phones/cell phones/smart phones, no iPods, no laptops etc... No more texting my friends back in the early morning hours before "good morning" wishes have been given and received, no more rude-awakening phone calls trying to get me to sub in an hour, no more anti-social iPoding in the bedroom, taking business calls at 11pm, no more web-time vs. spouse-time etc. We are trying to bring our bedroom back, once more, to being a haven of love and slumber. Only.

I've been feeling like we have been going to bed all "fuzzy"... immediately after (or during!) a tivoed TV show, too soon after staring at the computer screen for way too long, or with recent phone calls on the mind. We want get rid of all that fuzz and replace it with some calmness and peace of mind before drifting.

The goal is simple; a wind-down routine! A solid bedtime hour (10/10:30) at which we aim to be in bed (washed, brushed, and flossed), with some form of hard-copy reading material (anything from book, magazine, newspaper, print ups etc.), with the lamp only, and 20 minutes minimum of peaceful, quiet reading before retiring for the night...

The plan; starting with just one day a week, and adding gradually until we reach the goal.

There has just got to be something real about the way kids thrive off of the "bath, brush, book, bed" routine --- and I firmly believe that adults will thrive as well!!

(I will have to start a "on my nightstand" blog catagory - motivating me to go from book to book and not just settle for this months copy of Dwell or Bazaar magazine)