Go to bed with dad
The lamp is off, dad is still sitting on the edge of the bed, and the evening slowly settles. The hard part is rarely falling asleep, it is the goodbye, and the visual support below shows where the shared moment ends and sleep begins.
♂Go to bed with dad
Dad and a child lie next to each other in a bed with a duvet and pillows.
About this visual support
An adult who stays for a while calms the body more effectively than any chart on the wall. Breathing slows, shoulders drop and the day loosens its grip. At the same time, that closeness is exactly what becomes hard to let go of: the child does not know whether dad leaves after one story or after five, and the uncertainty keeps alertness up just when it should be falling.
Visual support makes the ending visible in advance. A row of pictures showing toothbrushing, pyjamas, a story, a hug and then dad walking out of the room gives the moment a shape the child can follow with their eyes. The question of how much time is left no longer has to be repeated, because the answer already hangs beside the bed.
One practical move is to point at the hug picture as the story begins, so the ending is known before it arrives. The same order a few nights in a row makes the transition noticeably lighter. If you want the evening on your phone too, you can build it in Routined and try the app for 14 days at no cost.