Parenting Perspective 

Moving a child from screens to bedtime is challenging because it bridges two opposing emotional states: stimulation and stillness. Screens activate dopamine and delay melatonin production, while bedtime demands rest and release. When parents rush this transition, resistance naturally arises. Children are not being defiant; they are neurologically overstimulated. The goal is not to force sleep but to guide the body and mind towards calm. 

Design a Gentle Descent 

Establish a clear screen-down time forty-five to sixty minutes before bed, making it a family rhythm rather than a punishment. Announce it warmly and predictably: ‘In ten minutes, we will turn screens off and start our night.’ Pair this with consistent cues, such as a soft chime, dimmed lights, or bedtime cards. For younger children, visual timers work well to prepare the brain for closure. When this signal repeats nightly, it feels reassuring, not abrupt. 

Replace the Screen with Connection 

Children protest screen endings when the alternative feels like disconnection. Replace digital stimulation with emotional closeness, such as storytime, soft talk, dua, or cuddles. The connection becomes the emotional reward after cooperation. Keep lighting soft, voices low, and screens out of reach once they are off. When bedtime means comfort instead of deprivation, children begin to move towards it willingly. 

Stay Calm and Consistent 

When your child protests, avoid arguing. Maintain gentle firmness: ‘I know you want to watch more, but it is time to rest our bodies.’ Children absorb your tone more than your words. Calm repetition communicates safety. Over time, consistency without anger turns rules into reliability, which is a pillar of emotional safety. 

Protect the Rhythm Beyond Bedtime 

A calm night begins long before screens shut off. Keep dinners light, avoid sugar and chaos, and conclude the day with spiritual wind-downs like dhikr or gratitude reflection. These anchors build rhythm. The real success is not in enforcing bedtime faster, but in helping your child want to rest, trusting the peace of routine. 

Spiritual Insight 

Honouring the Divine Design of Night 

The night is a mercy from Allah Almighty, a sacred pause woven into the human rhythm. It is a time when the heart withdraws from worldly stimulation and reconnects with serenity. In our screen-driven age, children are often deprived of this pause. Constant exposure to light and content tricks the brain into staying alert, and studies show that blue light suppresses melatonin, causing anxiety, fatigue, and mood imbalance. Protecting bedtime, therefore, is not merely about discipline; it is an act of mercy for the child’s mental, physical, and spiritual well-being. 

When you teach your child to step away from screens, you are teaching them the principle of tawazun (balance). Life, as the holy Prophet Muhammad ﷺ exemplified, is meant to flow between effort and rest, sound and silence, day and night. Islam encourages moderation even in permissible things. Screen control is, at its core, self-control, the essence of good character. Children who learn to stop, rest, and disconnect at the right time grow into adults who can regulate themselves with wisdom and faith. 

Guidance from the Noble Quran 

Allah Almighty states in the noble Quran at Surah Al Qasas (28), Verse 73: 

‘ And out of His (Allah Almighty) mercy, He has provided for you the night and the day; so that you may flourish therein, and that you may seek from His benefactions; and so that you may become grateful.‘ 

This verse reminds us that the alternation of day and night is not random; it is a divine rhythm designed for gratitude and balance. When a family honours bedtime as a time for rest and reflection, they align their lives with this natural order. Children who internalise this learn that peace is not found in constant entertainment but in stillness and remembrance of Allah Almighty. 

Wisdom from the Hadith 

It is recorded in Sahih Bukhari, Hadith 5199, that the holy Prophet Muhammad ﷺ said: 

‘Your body has a right over you, your eyes have a right over you, and your wife has a right over you.’ 

This hadith reminds believers that balance and rest are spiritual duties, not indulgences. Encouraging your child to sleep on time teaches them respect for their own body and the rights that Allah Almighty has ordained upon it. The holy Prophet Muhammad ﷺ would pray ‘Isha and retire early, encouraging his companions not to engage in idle talk afterwards. This routine itself was a form of discipline, protecting the sanctity of night and preparing the soul for Fajr. 

Raising Spiritually Grounded Sleepers 

Parents can gently nurture this by creating nightly habits rooted in remembrance: reciting Ayat Al Kursi, Surah Al Ikhlas, Al Falaq, and An Nas before sleep, as the holy Prophet Muhammad ﷺ recommended. These practices surround the child with spiritual safety and emotional calm, easing them into rest without fear or distraction. Turning off screens, then, becomes not deprivation, but a sacred transition, from noise to peace, from digital light to divine light. 

When a home ends its day in silence, gratitude, and remembrance, sleep becomes a form of worship, and bedtime transforms into an act of love for the child, for health, and for Allah Almighty who created both the night and the soul that rests within it.