Watching your kids sleeping is probably the most precious thing in the world. However, putting them to sleep and making sure that their sleep won’t be disrupted throughout the night is the most difficult thing to achieve.
Despite how challenging it can be, it’s a must that we try to give our all to accomplish this mission. You see, sleep is crucial for all of us. However, it’s essential for kids because they’re still undergoing significant physical and mental developments. It’s during sleep that the majority of these developments take place.
With that in mind, what can you do to make sure that your kids can get the sleep they need? Read on and find out!
Six Things You Can Do to Help Your Children Get a Good Night’s Sleep
Below are some tried-and-tested sleep training techniques for your children so that they can have a better sleep:
1. Feed your child the right amount of food at the right time.
Your child’s mealtime can have a significant effect on the quality of his sleep. Avoid feeding him too close to bedtime.
In addition to the feeding time, you should also consider the amount of food you give to your child in the evening. Give him too much, and it will be too uncomfortable for him to fall asleep. On the other hand, hunger may prevent him from getting good sleep when you feed him too little.
2. Check your child’s sleeping environment.
Do you find it difficult to sleep if your mattress is too soft? Can you fall asleep if there’s too much light in your room? If not, so does your child.
Because of this, you must pay special attention to the different parts of your baby’s room. Let’s begin with his bed. You have to make sure that the best is firm enough to support your child’s body and soft so he would still feel comfortable.
His pillows matter too since it’s the one that will support his head. If your child tends to snore at a young age, getting him a medical pillow can help. You can read more here.
Last but not least, soundproof your child’s room and install dimmable lights so you can minimize his exposure to light at night.
3. Encourage him to engage in physical activity.
After school, the only thing your kids would want to do is to lie down on the sofa and watch TV. No matter how tempting it is to give in to their demands, don’t. Muster all your power to engage them in physical activity.
It doesn’t have to be a full-blown sport. It can be something as simple as playing ball outside, walking around the neighborhood, or mowing the lawn. According to studies, having physical activity during the day can promote better sleep at night.
4. Spend some time together at night.
If you work in an office the entire day, it’s best that you set time for family bonding in the evening. According to experts, some kids refuse to sleep at night to catch the attention of their parents.
Moreover, eye contact, touch, and cuddles during your time together can also soothe and comfort your child, which can help him to sleep better and faster.
5. Stick to a bedtime routine.
Even if they seem like big kids already, your kids are still very much like babies in the sense that they still love routine. Because of this, having them stick to a bedtime routine is a good idea.
Ideally, children should wake up and sleep at the same times daily. This is true even if it’s a weekday or weekend. By doing this, your child’s body clock won’t be messed up, and it’ll be easier for him to fall asleep when bedtime comes.
6. Ban gadgets at night.
No matter how much your kids love screen time, find a way to ban gadgets at night. The recommendation is to turn off all devices at least two hours before bedtime.
You see, smartphones, laptops, and tablets emit blue light. This type of light messes up with our body clock, making us think it’s still daytime. As a result, it’s harder to fall asleep.
However, not all technology should be avoided. There is plenty of sleep technology that you can let your child use to help with his sleep. These include wearable devices that track sleep quality, sleep/wake clock, white noise machine, etc.
Final Words
Many things can hinder your child’s precious sleep—screen time, sounds, lights, anxiety, and many more. As a parent. It’s up to you to make sure that your child will get the sleep he needs. We hope that through the tips we’ve mentioned, you can finally achieve this seemingly unrealistic mission.