November 8, 2026
How to Stop Bedtime Stalling (One More Drink, One More Hug)
One more drink. One more hug. A sudden urgent need to tell you about a dream from last Tuesday. Bedtime stalling is so common that it is almost a stage of childhood, and it makes sense: bedtime means the fun stops and the grown-ups go away, so of course a child wants it to last a little longer.
This is general information, not medical advice. If your child struggles with sleep most nights for weeks, or you are worried, your pediatrician is the right person to talk to.
Do the asks before the light goes out
Most stalling is a list of requests: water, the toilet, the other teddy, another hug. Build them into the routine instead of waiting for them to arrive after lights out. A drink of water, a last trip to the toilet and a choice of toy can all happen before the final story. Then, if a request comes later, you can say kindly, “We already did that. It’s sleeping time now.”
Keep the routine short and the same
A long, loose routine has lots of places to negotiate. A short one, with the same steps in the same order every night, is much harder to stretch. Many families keep it to about twenty or thirty minutes: bath or wash, pajamas, teeth, toilet, one or two stories, lights out.
Use a bedtime pass
Some families give their child one “bedtime pass” a night, a card they can trade for one extra thing: a hug, a sip of water or one question. Once it is used, it is used. It gives a child a little control, which is often what the stalling is really about, and it puts a limit on it that they can see.
Give the questions a time
Children often save their biggest questions for lights out, because it is the first quiet moment of the day. Try a few minutes of talk time during the routine, perhaps in the bath or after the story, and if a question comes after lights out, promise to talk about it at breakfast. Then remember to.
Make the end of the story the end of the day
A story that ends with someone falling asleep is a natural full stop. It tells a child, gently, that the day is done. The story below is written for exactly that moment.
A free story to end the night: The Last Thing
Every night, at bedtime, Theo remembered one last thing. One night it was a drink of water. One night it was a question about whether sharks sleep. One night it was a hug, and then another hug, and then a very small third hug.
“Theo,” said Mama, “tonight, let’s do all the last things first.” So before the story, Theo had a drink of water, a big one. He went to the toilet. He chose his bear. He asked his question: do sharks sleep? (Sort of, said Mama. They rest while they swim.)
Then Mama read the story about the sleepy fox, the whole thing, right to the end. Then one hug. Then two. Then the very small third hug.
Theo lay in the dark and tried to think of one more last thing. He thought, and he thought. But he had done them all. There was nothing left to do except close his eyes.
So he did. And somewhere in the sea, a shark was resting while it swam, and Theo was resting while he dreamed, and the night was very quiet, and that was the last thing of all.
Make one starring your child
You can make a personalized bedtime story where your child is the hero, by name, and it always ends calm and ready for sleep. It starts in seconds. For more help, see what time your child should go to bed and how to get a toddler to stay in bed.
Every ZTales story is written to the same rules: nothing scary, no sad endings, and an ending that winds down calm. Questions and ideas go to hello@ztales.com, and every message is read. More about ZTales.