A Better Night Sleep For Your Child
A Better Night Sleep For Your Child
By Jay Marie P
Does your child have trouble going to sleep? Does he or she have problems getting a good night rest? If so, here are some suggestions.
1) Have your child go to bed at the same time every night and wake up at the same time. (Unless they are sick.)
2) If your child needs a nightlight make sure it isn't too bright. Too much light in the room might lead your child to play or read instead of going to sleep. Also, if they are waking up too early, check to see if it's because of morning light shining in their room. To combat this, put up a shade on the window. Or put up a darker one. Shades are also good for the summertime when the sun sets late. Children tend not to like to go to bed when it's light outside. They want to be up. Does this sound familiar, "Why do I have to go to sleep? It's still light out?"
3) There shouldn't be any books, games or toys in your child's bed or else they might want to play with them instead of going to sleep. They can have one or two special snugglies (stuff animals or special blankets) to hug in bed. Their bed should not be covered in stuff animals.
4) Have a routine before bed. Give your child a fifteen minute warning before they start their night time routine. You can call the routine BFJ which stands for Brush teeth, Floss, and put on Jammies (PJ's). You can say, "Sarah, I'm giving you your fifteen minute warning before you have to BFJ." Saying BFJ will quickly remind your child what they have to do.
5) Discourage any rough housing a half an hour to an hour before bed. If your child is jumping around it will be harder to get them to calm down and go to sleep. Stimulating T.V. programs and video games should be avoided. Instead, play a quiet game with them. Or this can be the time in the evenings they take a calming bath or shower. This period is a time to wind down. After their BFJ routine you can let your child read in bed (for kindergartners who can't read they can look at picture books). Also, it would be super if as a parent you can read at least one book to your child, or part of a chapter book, before they go to sleep.
6) If you have two children who sleep in the same room with different bedtimes make sure the child with the later bedtime is quiet when he or she enters the room. They should get their PJ's out of the room earlier so they don't disturb the other child. You can put a stack of PJ's and underwear for the older sibling in the linen closet by the bathroom. This way your child doesn't have to remember every night to get their PJ's out of their drawer before their younger sibling goes to bed.
7) If two siblings share a room and one keeps the other awake by talking you can curb it by making a star chart for the one who's causing the disturbance. However, do not make the rewards on the star chart so great their siblings gets jealous and starts making noise too. You can create the star chart in a way that your child only gets computer time the next day if they don't disturb their sibling the night before. You also can create a star chart for a child who gets out of bed frequently for no reason. This will motivate them to stay in bed.
8) Snoring. I heard of a problem where a father was waking his son up every night with his snoring. The parents had the room next door and had paper thin walls. They also kept their door open at night so they could hear if their son needed help. Additionally, your child could be waking himself up with his own or a sibling's snoring. Find out if snoring could be why your child is waking up at night and getting poor sleep. If you or your husband snore you can try a snoring program, or go see your doctor. The doctor might have you try those stripes that go over the nose to lessen snoring. If any of your children snore ask their pediatrician for advice.
9) It's nice for a child to have a sip of water before going to sleep. But if they drink a glass or two before bed they could be up in the middle of the night going to the bathroom. This interruption of sleep could be why they are tired in the mornings. If this is the case with your child, limit liquid intake before bed. But make sure your child drinks enough liquids during the day. Sometimes a child is just too busy playing to think about getting a glass of water so offer them one.
Jay Marie has a B.A. in Sociology. She is a Former Nanny to children with parents in the Entertainment Industry. To learn more about ways to help your child with problems they might have and recommended programs visit http://www.Foundit-4u.com/Harmony-in-the-Home.htm Because you deserve Harmony in the Home
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