Are your kids having trouble sleeping? Putting your children to bed and hearing repeated whines of “I can’t sleep!” isn’t the best way to spend a night. Luckily, there are some things that can be done to help make the transition from wide awake to drowsy and ready to hit the sack that much easier for your little ones. Here are five things you can try if your child will not sleep.

Develop a Bedtime Routine

 

 

A proper bedtime routine will have kids winding down long before their heads actually hit their pillows. Make the routine predictable so your kids recognize it and began to relax in kind. All the steps in this routine should be calming, such as taking a bath and brushing teeth, changing into pajamas, kissing the family good night, or listening to a bedtime story.

Remember, never incorporate rocking your child or singing to them into the routine, as it can cause sleep-onset association disorder – a condition where your child will need to be sung to or rocked to sleep at all.

Keeping consistent is vital to making the bedtime routine truly get your child in the mindset of bedtime, so make sure it’s perfect for your child and do it every day until it’s habitual. This can reduce cortisol – or stress hormone – levels in the body so your child can sleep easily.

The bedtime routine should also include a regular waking and sleeping time that allows for 9 to 11 hours of sleep. This encourages your child’s natural circadian rhythm to regulate, and you should keep up this wake-sleep pattern even on weekends!

 

Create a Restful Sleeping Environment

 

Make sure your child’s bedroom is comfortable to sleep in and encourages drowsiness. The room should be at a good temperature for sleeping, neither too hot nor too cold, and their bed should be comfortable enough and have enough space for them to stretch. Make sure bedding is comfortable, blankets are sufficient, and that they have the stuffed toys they sleep with nearby for cuddling.

Ideally, there should be complete darkness when your child sleeps, as this is how they will receive the healthiest slumber. For those that are frightened of the dark, leave the hallway light on outside and turn it off once they’re asleep, or opt for a very dim nightlight that can be timed to shut off. If noise around the house bothers your child, have a steady fan going or invest in a white noise app or machine.

 

Turn Devices Off Early

 

All research is unanimous on this: devices and screens emit light that restricts the production of melatonin, the sleep hormone. Even dim settings and blue light filters still limit the necessary creation of this component. This can prevent sleep and even lead to your kid being awake for several hours more – even with just an extra 30 minutes of screen time!

Your child should unplug from all screens – be it phones, computers, or television screens – two hours before bedtime. Is your child bored after this? There are plenty of winding down activities that they can do. Have them take a nice warm bath, encourage them to read or read to them, or listen to calming music together.

 

Avoid Late Night Meals

 

Eating big meals too close to bedtime can cause your child to feel more awake and energized when you need them to be calm. Multiple studies have proven that this can disrupt sleep patterns and mess up the possibility for a healthy night’s rest. In addition, if you allow your child to drink soda or beverages with caffeine, make sure they don’t have any within 3 hours of bedtime!

If your child finds themselves hungry close to bedtime, opt for a light snack. Believe it or not, breakfast type foods, like peanut butter on toast, milk and oatmeal, yogurt, eggs, and bananas are known to encourage better sleep. Again, do this in moderation!

You should also avoid making your child drink too much water before bed to avoid midnight trips to the bathroom, which can wind up your child and make falling back asleep difficult.

 

Offer Fear Protection

 

Many young children are afraid of the dark, the monster under the bed, or the boogieman in the closet, and this fear can keep them awake for way longer than is healthy. Unfortunately, at that age, no amount of telling them monsters and ghosts aren’t real will convince them that they are truly safe – but there is a way to console them!

Create monster spray with some air freshener, or just with plain water in a spray bottle for their protection or give them a special toy that will fight monsters for them. It just might help them sleep in peace!

In a nutshell

These tips should offer some foolproof ideas to help your kids close their eyes more easily. Still, while many kids might have difficulty sleeping at some point in their life, it’s important for parents to be on the lookout for sleeping disorders, too. If no tips or tricks work, your child regularly experiences nightmares, or they frequently wake up in the middle of the night, Sleepedia advises that you speak to a pediatrician.

Remember, as with all efforts involving children, patience is key. Be gentle but firm in enforcing new rules and don’t expect instant results. Slowly but surely, if you implement these tips into everyday life, you’ll see it pay off as your child sleeps more easily and wakes up feeling more refreshed every day.

 

Xo,