I’m sure that most moms and dads will have the same complaint – sometimes there seems to be nothing they can do to try and get their kids to sleep! When the kids have sleepless nights, so does the entire household. You and your partner will have to constantly be up to deal with them, and all of this noise it creates could even keep your older children awake through the night.
Some parents think that all of this is just a part of childhood and that they simply have to put up with it until their kids grow out of the phase. Eventually, as they age, they will fall into better sleeping patterns, and the whole household will be able to enjoy well-rested nights once again. That’s true, to a point, but it’s not quite right saying that nothing can be done to make things better right now. In fact, there are quite a few tricks and hacks that parents can use on children of any age. Most of these will help them fall asleep in no time at all. So, ready to get some more shuteye yourself? Read on to find out what you need to do to encourage your young children to sleep!
Improve Their Bedroom
First things first, you need to make sure that their bedroom is the optimum environment for sleep. If the room isn’t sleep-friendly, then there is no way your child will be able to drop off and head to the land of nod. First of all, address the temperature in the room. If the temperature is too hot or too cold, it could make your child uncomfortable and they will have a hard time sleeping, no matter how tired they are. There shouldn’t be too much light in the room either, so you might need to hang some blackout drapes to block out all the light that shines in through the window. If there is also some noise coming from outside or elsewhere in the house, simply add a white noise machine. This will cover up any other sounds and can be quite soothing to listen to when trying to sleep.
Make Them Cozy
As well as a sleep-friendly bedroom, you need to make sure that your child is as comfortable as possible in their bed. This might not take a lot of work. For instance, if they are currently sleeping on an old and lumpy mattress, you might need to get them a new one. You can see our mattress recommendations for the whole family by following that link. Check your child’s pillows as well. If their current ones aren’t supporting their neck and head as effectively as they should, then they could be very uncomfortable and might suffer from neck and back pain which could cause them to wake frequently through the night.
Set Up A Routine
Kids love routines in their life. They provide them with some stability and they also help them know what to expect throughout the day. More often than not, children don’t respond too well to spontaneity and surprises, so it is always a good idea to set up as many routines as possible. And that is especially the case when it comes to bedtime. Without a set routine, you will find that it is incredibly difficult to persuade your child to even think about going to bed. This routine will let them know that bedtime is approaching so that they can start to prepare for it. It also gives them a chance to unwind and relax before they need to try and sleep. Once the mind is aware that it is almost time for sleep, it should find it easier to shut down once in bed, and your child will quickly fall asleep as a result. Ideally, your child’s bedtime routine should last around thirty minutes or an hour or so before bedtime. If you struggle to get your child to sleep, you might want to increase this time period so that they have longer to relax and unwind. If your child is still very young, you should endeavor to go through each step of the routine with them. Once they are slightly older, they will be ok to go through the routine on their own.
Turn Off Devices
These days it is very uncommon to find a small child who has never used a smartphone or mobile device before. In fact, most children enjoy playing on various devices, computers, and games consoles on an evening. Even though this may keep your kid quiet and occupied for an hour or two, it could be keeping them up through the night. That’s because excessive uses of tablet, TV, and computer screens can make it very difficult to get to sleep. There’s some science behind this which explains it all. These screens emit a blue light that isn’t visible to the naked eye. However, this light messes with the hormone that causes us to fall to sleep. It reduces the amount of this hormone in the body. As our levels of it aren’t so high after staring at screens, it makes it difficult to fall asleep at night. So, if your child is on his or her computer right up until bedtime, there is no wonder that they can’t get enough sleep each night. So, to solve this, you just need to stop your child looking at screens for an hour before they go to bed. This gives their body chance to build up its levels of the sleep-inducing hormone once again.
To Help Children Sleep, Go Dark https://t.co/iy1ztP5MRu pic.twitter.com/6Yjv3Lr9wO
— Corporette® (@corporette) April 16, 2018
Add A Night Light
Another thing that makes it incredibly tricky to persuade kids to go to bed is a fear of the dark. If your child suffers from nightmares or believes that there are monsters under their bed, then there is no way they will want to shut their eyes to try and relax. So, you need to first conquer this fear of theirs. The best way to go about it is to ensure that their bedroom is fairly light when they go to bed. That way, they won’t be left scared in the dark. You can now buy night lights in most children’s and toy stores. These can be placed near the child’s bed and left on through the night. They emit a soft glow to light up the bedroom just enough so that your child no longer complains of the dark. Not only that, though, but they are just dim enough so as not to disturb the child’s sleep at all.
Serve Up Snacks
Are you sure that your child isn’t hungry? There is no way they will be able to get any sleep if they go to bed with their stomach rumbling, so make sure they have a small snack on their way to bed. Just make sure that the snack isn’t something that is fatty or sugary or else it could cause their energy levels to spike too much, which will make them wide awake. The best snacks just before bedtime are things like bowls of healthy cereals, brown toast and peanut butter, or crackers and cheese. Ideally, give them some complex carbohydrates as the body will slowly digest them through the night ensuring that there is no chance of your child waking up hungry in the middle of the night.
Give Them A Friend
All some kids want is a friend to keep them company through the night. Unfortunately, you can’t give newborns and babies any toys in their crib as they could cause them danger through the night while they sleep. However, it’s perfectly fine to put toddlers and young children to bed with a soft toy or teddy bear. Some children might prefer to snuggle up to their favorite blanket instead of a toy. Whatever their bedtime friend is, you will find that it can greatly relax them and encourage them to drift off once they get into bed.
No Late Nights
There are lots of parents out there who allow their child to enjoy a late night at the weekend when they don’t have to worry about getting up early for school the next day. Sure, this is a nice little treat for your child, but there is a word of caution that you need to hear about it. Generally speaking, letting your child stay up past their bedtime will only break their routine and sleep patterns. It will make them more likely to sleep in the next day, which could make it a lot more difficult to unwind and relax the following night. So, only let your child stay up late past their bedtime if you are prepared for the consequences!
Use Aromatherapy
There is one last resort – aromatherapy! If your child struggles to unwind in bed, you should sprinkle some drops of lavender oil onto their pillow. This fragrance is known for its calming qualities.
Hopefully, all the tips in this blog will put an end to your child’s sleepless nights once and for all!
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