A child having a good night’s sleep is the most peaceful sight. Seeing your angel asleep gives you immense happiness. A cry-less night can be a miracle for some with tiny children in the house. Some children nap on time without affecting others and produce less noise.
Good sleep is when one lies down for rest and gets deeper into it. The whole body relaxes but just sleeping does not guarantee that it is quality sleep. What you want is a goodnight’s quality sleep for your baby.
Your toddler requires 11-14 hours of sleep in a day. Kids of growing age are playful and energetic all the time. All children with the whole family need ample rest to stay active and healthy the next day.
The schedules play a role in determining the sleep of the child. Firstly, you need to detect the sleeping patterns of your kid. When your kid falls asleep during the day after meals or during the night, keep a note of what sounds and habits distract them from sleep.
Why Try Tips To Help Your Child Get Sound Sleep?
Getting your kid to bed is not an easy task. They are sometimes hyperactive just before bedtime. The times are so exciting that it seems like kids never get tired. Tucking your little one in bed is quite challenging, so it is a must for you to know tips that will help your child get a good night’s sleep.
The concern is for kids to get quality sleep at night. But when they are unable to sleep, it can create problems for the whole family and sometimes even the neighborhood. Isn’t that disturbing? So you must know certain things about sleep for your kids to get a goodnight’s sleep. You can try co-sleeping with your baby.
There can be restless nights when you were half asleep, your baby wept. The silence at night is such that even a little cry sounds too loud. It seems as if the baby’s cry received amplification from the speaker. And you wished if only there were some ways to give your child some good night’s sleep.
Some Tips To Help Your Child Get A Good Night’s Sleep:
These tips can help your kid sleep peacefully. A calmly asleep child obtains blissful sleep. When a baby is quiet, all the other members of the family get quality sleep. In this roundabout, here are some tips to help your child get a good night’s sleep.
Preparation Before Sleep:
A goodnight’s sleep requires early preparation that includes the time for your kid to fall asleep. Prepping for a nap includes letting them relax. Some relaxing tips are:
- Turning sleepy lights on. The dim lights will set up the sleeping environment.
- Arrange comfortable and cozy bed sheets, blankets.
- Making kids listen to bedtime music helps them sleep better. Such music includes lullabies, baby songs.
- If your kid is in the reading stage, you can read stories to them and help them fall asleep.
- For toddlers, you can hold them close to your body and help them fall asleep.
- Some kids like to sleep with soft toys. You can arrange soft toys for them to help them sleep easily.
- Make sure bright lights are off, heavy music or noise are not audible.
- You can teach your kids breathing techniques like counting numbers downwards from 10 to 1. This breathing exercise will keep them focused and help them to fall asleep.
- Having a conversation about the whole day and ending talks with angelic vibrations will make sure kids will have pleasant dreams.
- You can change children’s day cloth to a clean nightdress, and showering before sleep helps for a pleasant doze
Gaps Between Sleeping Hours:
Notice the time around which your child falls asleep daily. If your baby completes whole sleep in a day, there is no way they will sleep at night. If they had a tiring day, then they will fall asleep on their own. Try to find the gaps between sleeping hours.
For toddlers, these gaps need utilization for feeding. After feeding some immediately, they go back to sleep. You can allow older kids to nap for a limited time. If they sleep for many hours in a day, their sleep completes. Kids then cannot fall asleep at night. Make sure they nap no more than 20 minutes a day.
During holidays or vacations, children form the habit of sleeping during the day. The sleep cycle is sometimes hard to let go of once the schools or colleges resume.
Track Patterns Of Sleep:
Little kids develop patterns of sleeping after the age of three months. Tracking sleep patterns will ensure quality sleep at night. You can support them to get some sleep. Help them in the completion of other activities during the day, and they go to bed stress-free.
You may have noticed your child breathing fast while sleeping. There are two patterns of sleep. Rapid Eye Movement(REM) takes place after sleeping for 90 minutes. When you fall asleep, the sleep at the beginning is Non REM sleep, then comes the REM sleep. Babies spend 50% of the doze with Rapid Eye Movement. Adults have only 20% of REM sleep.
When your kid is breathing heavily during sleep, it is not a nightmare but is just a part of their sleep cycle. If feasible, do not wake a sleeping kid for food. Feed them on time without affecting the sleep cycle. Let them have their goodnight’s sleep.
Schedule Sleep Time:
Schedules make sleep systematic. The human body can adjust to routines. Make a habit of placing your child for a nap at the same time every day. You can plan your other stuff too. When your kid sleeps at the same time every day, you can utilize the time for things that were hard to do with the kid by your side.
- 1-4 months old should get 16-17 hours of sleep in a day.
- Four months to 1 year of age should get 14-15 hours of sleep daily.
- 1-3 years of kids need 12-14 hours of sleep in 24 hours.
- 3-6-year-olds require 11-12 hrs of sleep.
- 7-12-year-old children want 10-12 hrs of good sleep.
- 13-18 years of aged kids should get 8-10 hours of sleep daily.
The uniformity in sleep guarantees good health. Children should get enough sleep as per age. Changing of diapers and clothes of your kid is adjustable with proper sleep time. With sleeping time, waking up times can be calculated.
Feeling Of Being Safe:
Sleeping is a private business. Be sure your child is sleeping comfortably in the room. Restrict kids from watching violent, disturbing, and horror content. Your kid should feel safe in the room. Some safety areas for kids are:
- In the kid’s room.
- In your (parents) room.
- A crib where your baby perfectly fits.
- Comfortable clothes like a sleep sack, onesie.
If they are thinking something mentally or have tension, then they won’t be able to fall asleep. The cleansing of the mind from thoughts and feelings of safety allows kids to sleep tight.
Meal And Drinking Water:
A proper diet is essential for healthy sleeping habits. Sleeping right after a heavy meal will not let calories burn. Make sure your kids wait for a few hours before going to bed after eating. Help kids get balanced food at the right time. Some mothers breast feed babies while others use powdered milk. Some parents make use of powdered milk.
Dehydration is another reason people are not able to get proper sleep. Make sure your child is hydrated. For them to get a quality goodnight’s sleep, an adequate amount of water is necessary.
Distractions:
Showpieces like the Grandfather clock make a lot of tik-tok sounds. Try to keep the timer away from the room or get a digital clock that does not make a sound. Be careful of the alarms set at odd times. Also, keep cellphones in silent mode when your kid is asleep.
Maintain silence in the times when your child is about to fall asleep. Speak in a lower tone.
Exercise:
Getting enough exercise and action during the day ensures a goodnight’s sleep. Staying outdoors and getting enough sunlight keeps kids fresh. Being tired compels them to fall asleep on time. Yoga for kids with other exercises are also important.
Shut Down Devices:
Kids should avoid looking at the screen before going to bed. You can make them listen to songs from electronic devices but do not let them play video games before bed.
Some children develop habits of requiring mobiles to fall asleep. Try to keep their request down and find alternative ways to make them sleep. Digital devices shed light that alerts the brain to stay awake. Keep devices off an hour before bedtime.
Healthy Midnight Snacks And Less Caffeine:
Sometimes too much caffeine and junk intake disturb the sleep cycle of children. Too many drinks like coffee and soda like iced tea intake during the day can cause trouble getting sleep at night. Children tend to stay up late for various purposes and choose the wrong snacks for midnight.
The stomach is reactive at night, and plain food rather than spicy is better. It is even better if kids do not stay up late and follow the usual sleep time.
Sleep Disorders :
Some kids can develop insomnia due to various disorders. Make sure you keep notice of their sleep habits. Some children have habits like sleepwalking or talking during the night. If it is something serious, then it is always better to consult a doctor.
Do Not Sleep With Pets:
Pets are just like babies. Some children wish to sleep with pets. But for a goodnight’s sleep, it is not recommended. Sometimes this can cause hazards like the kid stepping on a pet and vice-versa.
It is ok to allow kids and pets to cuddle in your presence but leaving them for the whole night is a bad idea. It is advisable to place pets in separate rooms with different sleeping areas.
Conclusion
You can try the tips mentioned above on your kids and see whether or not your child gets a good night’s sleep. If you have any more such guidance, then do not forget to comment on the section below. These pieces of information coming out of the experience will surely help a lot of moms out there. Happy Parenting!
