If you have a child who has difficulty sleeping, keep reading. We’ll be taking a look at the top six strategies that you can put to good use so your child can get a good night’s sleep. It’s important that they get the required sleep they need due to the many benefits your child can get.
Without adequate sleep, it can harm your child’s growth and overall development. While there may be factors that may contribute to your child’s inability to sleep, it’s important for you to make sure that you use one or a combination of two of these strategies.
Now, let’s get started with the first strategy on the list:
1. Know How Much Sleep Your Child Should Be Getting
This strategy depends on the age of your child or children. Every requirement is different for each child in your family. A five-year-old will require more sleep than their older sibling who is 11 years old.
Infants should require anywhere between 10 to 13 hours of sleep per night. This will continue on through their toddler years. By the time they are five years of age and beyond, a good amount of sleep will range anywhere from 9 to 11 hours of sleep in a 24 hour period.
2. Make A Bedtime Routine
Before your child goes to sleep, it’s important to have a bedtime routine in place. Brush teeth, take showers or baths, power down electronics, and so on. These bedtime routines should start no later than 90 minutes to 2 hours of the designated bedtime.
If your child’s scheduled bedtime is 8 PM, then 6:30 PM should be a good time to begin a bedtime routine for your children. Between the pre-bedtime period, no electronics should be used. That’s because the blue lights emitting from them can cause melatonin levels to drop, making it difficult for a child to sleep.
3. Shut Off Electronics
Between the pre-bedtime period, no electronics should be used. That’s because the blue lights emitting from them can cause melatonin levels to drop, making it difficult for a child to sleep. This means all phones, tablets, computers, and yes even TVs and video games should be powered off.
Also, you might want to keep the TVs out of the bedroom, to begin with.
4. Create An Ideal Sleep Environment
An ideal sleep environment will vary from one child’s age to the next. If your child is afraid of the dark, get a night light. While it won’t be enough to hurt a child’s sleep patterns, it will give them comfort in knowing that they are not alone in the dark (thus helping them fall asleep).
Also, you’ll want to keep the room nice and cool so it’s comfortable enough for your child to fall asleep. Too warm or too cool might cause discomfort and thus make it difficult for them to sleep.
5. Consider A Better Quality Mattress
If there is one thing that will get a child to sleep better, it’s a good quality mattress. Find something that is not too soft, nor firm. The closer you can find to a happier medium, the better. Especially when your child needs a good night’s sleep on something that’s considered very comfortable.
6. Avoid caffeine in the afternoon or before bed
Caffeine is enough to keep anyone awake. Especially children. If your child drinks a soda per day, be sure that they have it before the afternoon.
Ideally, noon or 1 PM will be ideal cutoff times for children regardless of age. The less caffeine they take in, the better off they’ll be when the time comes to go to bed.
Final Thoughts
Your child needs a good night’s sleep every night. Especially when they are at a young age. It is crucial to make sure that the sleep they get using a consistent schedule.
While a necessity, the benefits of a good night’s sleep for children will aid them in the long run as they get older. This includes better growth and development. They will also have the ability to stay more attentive in schools and likely get better grades all throughout their years of education.
They will also get through each day with a good amount of energy. And they won’t have to worry about crashing during the middle of the day. In toddlers, a good night’s sleep means fewer tantrums and more calm days.
Depending on your child’s age, they need the hours of sleep every day so set the times for bed accordingly. Plus, when they go to sleep it will better your chances of getting a good night’s sleep as well. Don’t let your child’s sleep issues get the best of you.
Use the six strategies listed above and you’ll have a child that is always well-rested and reaping the short-term and long-term benefits throughout their childhood.