It can be hard for kids to transition from being active to slowing down for sleep. I’ve been collecting ideas that you can experiment with to see what works for YOUR child. I would suggest that you offer these as choices that your child can pick from. I suggest all the time that we offer as many choices as we can, and only offer choices that are OK with us.

(Keep in mind that I am speaking as a child development specialist/early childhood special educator, and these are strategies I have seen occupational therapists use over the years…. If you have questions about them, see if you can find an occupational therapist to ask.)

Here are some things to try:

if your child is really feeling energetic, towards the beginning (such as right after lunch and before the afternoon nap), try a shake-it out song (think Taylor Swift or Florence & the Machine) or a robot & noodle dance
start at the child’s active pace and then slow things down as you go
the roll back, the blanket swing, and rowing
blanket parachute, pillow chops, kid sandwich, toddler toss, stuffed animal toss, bubble mountain
bicycle movement
sensory circuit.
Lot of kiddos love to wind down with blanket swing or “magic carpet” (dragging the kiddo around on the blanket if there’s no one available to pick up the other side of the blanket!).
Or try out this variation on progressive muscle relaxation, pressing muscles down into the bed to imitate a weighted blanket!
I haven’t yet read the My Bed-Ready Body book by Taylor Peek and Hannah Sylcox, but it looks great! (available on kindle or hardcover… and at this moment on 8/25/25 I am not an Amazon affiliate… FYI)
This is a great time to practice some breathing together or to try out some progressive muscle relaxation (some examples: face and body)!
Massage is a great way to relax the muscles for bed. (I am a certified educator of infant massage and love to do massage together in coaching sessions!) For younger kids, we want to use oils that allow them to smell YOU rather than an added scent. For kids who are old enough to not put their feet in their mouths, it’s an added bonus if you use some magnesium lotion for a nice foot rub. Magnesium relaxes the muscles and feels amazing. You can overdo it, especially if you’re also doing epsom salts or a magnesium supplement. So don’t do them all at once, but I LOVE the feeling of a magnesium before bed.

For more information, check out this article from Nurtured First, which helps us understand how to support sensory seekers differently from sensory avoiders!

This article suggests doing activities that are alerting, then organizing, then calming.

Or check out this podcast episode on sensory friendly bedtime routines or this article on the sensory side of sleeping.

Do you have other favorite body-focused activities that help the body to wind down for sleep? Share them below!