According to Parents maggie, here are some before bed no-nos:

-Watching TV, playing video games, or using the computer less than 30 minutes before bedtime (though stopping 1 hour before is even better)

-Excessive roughhousing

-Eating a large meal close to bedtime (but don't send your child to bed hungry either)

-Snacking on foods that contain caffeine

Well, I am guilty of watching tv before bed. I use it to wind down, and that is the only time I get to catch up on the shows I have missed while I was up cleaning up dinner or cleaning up after my LO.

Ya know, I may have a completely backwards family, but if I let my girls just play before bed they go nuts and get into "hyper fighting sleep" mode. I will put them down in front of the tv for just one cartoon (30 mins) and then read them each 2 stories and then bed. I find that the quiet volume of the tv and them sitting still for a few moments causes long heavy blinking eyes and yawns to occur, and then I sneak in for the kill with a book while they lay down.