Question 1: Can you think of a bedtime ritual that you have used effectively with your own children or the children in your care? What was it? How did it make the child feel about going to sleep?

Answer 1: When it comes to bedtime, the children I have watched and even my own brother, I have implemented different bedtime routines because they are each different. Due to not being in a classroom or teaching in a learning environment as of yet, I only have limited experience with this matter. When it comes to my autistic brother and his night time routine, he is somewhat different. After brushing his teeth and laying him in bed, he does not go to sleep unless someone is laying next to him, otherwise he will stay up all night and whine, someone can leave after he is sleep but otherwise he will not fall asleep. Before he does go to sleep, when he lies down, he tends to want his favorite Goofy doll in his arms, if he does not have this (or some replacement that is the same size) he will not want to go to sleep unless he is super tired and someone is laying next to him and holding him. Sometimes when he is lying in the bed, to tire him out, I will put on SpongeBob or Dora the Explorer, while this normally is not recommended for younger children, my brother has autism and is 23 years old, so with his routine and nighttime rituals, this has been a constant since he was smaller and was approved by doctors due to his mental development being that of a child between one to three years old. For other children, there would be a different ritual.

When it comes to other infants and toddlers that I have watched and put to bed, their nighttime routine is somewhat different. To begin, I would ensure the child has a clear diaper, we do not want them to fall asleep with a soiled out dirty diaper or clothes as this can cause them to develop a rash and or different infections if not cleaned properly in a certain amount of time. After this, I would ensure that the child is in the proper sleeping position for their age range so they are comfortable, secure, and safe while sleeping. Normally when I put young children to sleep they do not feel any particular way about it. Only time they have some sort of issue or begin to fuss is if I take them away from what they are doing to have them take a nap or go to sleep such as if they are playing with their toys or drawing. Most of the time, because they are used to the routine and nighttime rituals, they do not fuss but their are those rare occasions.

Question 2: Take time to consider each child in your room. What are his sleep patterns like? How does he prefer to fall asleep? What is his mood generally like when he wakes up?

Answer 2: Within the infant toddler classroom that I observe during class time, the children in the class tend to sleep through the night from what their parents say except for the infant that is within the class. So far, I have only observed two children call asleep within the classroom during my scheduled time. The first child was cranky and crying majority of the morning until they were able to take a nap. Once they woke up they felt refreshed and ready to play and happy. The second child that I have observed did not seem as cranky when they were tired, they seemed less active and more worried about sitting down and did not want to participate as much within activities and the classroom routine. After they woke up from their nap within the quiet area, they seemed quiet but did not seem upset to be woken up because they went straight into lunch time. I feel that the second child would have been much more frustrated and upset if they were woken up in a different manner other than to lunch time. I say this because if the child was woken up to another child screaming in their ear, they might have been upset and started crying or screaming themselves, but because of the gentle and tender care from the caregivers, they were not woken up with fright or had a rude awakening.