Bath and Bed Time - How Soon After Dinner?

We usually do bath right after dinner as my almost two year old is also a messy eater! We then normally either play for a while or read books before bed.

Have dinner for him, EARLIER.
Make, everything, earlier.
So that, the actual bedtime... does not get later and later.
His pacing for eating is time consuming, so you know that.
Thus, make dinner for him, earlier.
Babies/young kids, need to eat earlier than an Adult would.
Their hunger/sleep needs are different. On a different schedule.

He does not have to eat an entire meal.
Just until he is full.
A child should eat according to their biological cues anyway.... hungry/full. Then when full, stop.
OFTEN kids will just nibble. That's fine.
My son is like that. He is a "grazer." He does not eat like M. or his sister... all at one time.

ALSO, when kids/babies are tired... they cannot eat.
BOTH my kids are like that. Always has been.

So, know your baby's cues.

Have bath and dinner, earlier.
So that, you do not have to rush, or rush him.

I would, have bath, then meal time.

And, don't do anything active/hyper/horse play, before bed.
That just keys up a child, and then they can't sleep.
Make everything quiet and calm and dark, before his, bedtime.

Also, at this age, you don't have to... bathe him, at night or right before bed.
Just bathe him, EARLIER. Even BEFORE dinner time.
That is what I did with my kids as babies.
I bathed them, in the late afternoon.
THEN, it was done.
Then the whole night time routine... is not so rushed.

MAKE your routines for him, EARLIER.
And don't force him to eat... everything.
He is only eating what he can.
And if full, ya can't make a child eat more.
Know, his cues for hunger and fullness.
Overeating is never good for anyone.
Having him eat everything... per adult connotations.. is what is making his eating... a "long time" to do.

My son is a picky eater ever since babyhood... he eats until he is full. And that's it. I don't make eating a long drawn out thing.... if he is already full.
He eats, until he is full. Even if that is only nibbles sometimes. And I taught him HOW to say "I am full...." and that's it.
Fine.
He KNOWS his body's cues.

I've never heard of not taking a bath right after eating. Whatever works for your schedule, I say go for it! Is it the rushing around after dinner your worried about? If so, you'll either have to pick scooting bedtime a bit later or eating a bit sooner. Can you move lunch a bit sooner so he will be hungry earlier? I doubt 15 -20 mins eating earlier will make much difference to him, but may help you get him to bed on time!

My husband is home at 4:30, we eat around 5:00 and are done eating by 5:30 usually. My son is 15 months old as well. He plays with daddy from about 5:30-6:00 while I clean up the kitchen. Then we all play until about 6:30 or 6:45, then a quick bath and bed. Sleeping by 7:00. Sometimes, if he didn't eat dinner well, I give him a quick snack around 6:30.

I think you are doing fine.. Maybe start your sons dinner eating a little earlier in his high chair as you are finishing cooking, then join him..

Also make sure that bath time is quiet with lots of strong wipes.. It will make him relax more.

Make sure there is not a lot of activity surrounding dinner.. the TV, cell phone calls.. All of that can be a distraction for children.. It can get them hyped up because they do not want to miss out on anything and fight going to sleep..

And no, there is no harm in a bath right after eating and believe it or not.. It is an old wives tale that people should not swim after eating! That has been debunked many years ago..

I do the same as 2under2. We eat dinner, we play for a little bit, we take a bath, play a tiny bit more, then it is bed time. I don't think it is bad for their health. Having a set routine is really good!

We usually do dinner, 15-20mins of playtime with daddy while I clean up the kitchen, and then do bath time. After the bath, we usually let the girls play for a little while--depending on how they are behaving which of course is affected by how tired they are. My youngest (8months) will usually crawl over to M. when she is ready to go to sleep and then I'll go lay her down (usually around 7:30). My oldest will then get to go watch tv in bed with M. and daddy for about an hour and then she's off to bed too.

I should probably mention that we eat dinner pretty early, around 5:30. My husband hates eating late so I try to have dinner ready right around the time he gets home. Also, although this has become our "schedule" so to speak, things don't always run according to plan and sometime we skip bath time all together!

I don't really see any problem with giving your son a bath right after dinner. Like other mom's said though, if he's not really dirty, go ahead and skip bath time and spend more time just enjoying each other!

I've never heard it wasn't good to bathe after eating--maybe you're thinking of swimming? I think it's fine. You could also skip bath sometimes.

I don't think a bath immediately after dinner will do him any harm. We do that all the time.

What if you switch it around? How about a bath b/f dinner. He might drum up more of an appetite because of the delay and the frolicking in the bath. you can follow up with a wipe of his hands and face, then jammies, a story and bed.

I've never heard that about bathing after eating...

Regardless, consider giving him a bath every-other-night so that you have some family time between dinner and bed. Unless he's "dirty" he doesn't need a bath every night!

We have dinner either at 6:00 or 6:30. Bath time is usually between 7:30 and 8:15 after which the girls get into pjs. The younger child (16 months) then goes to bed around 8:00/8:15. We read her a story and brush her teeth, put her in her crib and then we get the older child's teeth brushed, get her into bed (at this time is is usually 8:30 or 8:45) and we read her several stories.

I think if your routine works for you and your child then it is probably ok for him. I can't think of any reason why having a bath directly after eating dinner would be harmful. We bathe our children directly after dinner if they are super messy or sticky and I don't think they are any worse for it.

I think it's really no swimming right after you eat. Not sure why, but I have heard that. I think bathing is ok.

Maybe it just M., but I find it somewhat odd that your schedule is dinner, bath, bed. I also have a 15mo old boy (he is our 5th child). I'm able to do the same schedule for him each day as I run a daycare in our home and find children thrive on routine/schedules. I am done with my work day at 5, so our dinner is at 5:30each night. Dinner lasts about 20-30min. From 6-7 we play indoors/outdoors. 7pm is bath time, which usually is about 15-20 min. Then we start winding down...stories (he LOVES to be read to), a small snack, then at 7:50 he has a small bit of milk in a sippy and we rock with his bedtime book. 8:00, he's in bed. Do you work out of the home that your dinner hr. is so late to where you need to feed him, bathe him, and directly put him to bed? If so, when are you having time with him to play, etc.? If you are at home w/him during the day, could you change his schedule around a bit?, or are you wanting it to stay the same? I know everyone does things differently, but of all my family or friends that have children too, I've never heard of the schedule you're on. Best of luck always. :)

As kids get older they are going to need less sleep. Therefore the bedtime will get later. If you want a specific bedtime then just plan around that. I have never heard that about bathing and bedtime. We do dinner ad different times throughout the week due to activities. If it is early we always do a late snack so the kids won't wake up hungry during the night. They need to eat every few hours.