20 May The best tricks for your child to fall asleep on time
It’s time to go to sleep after a succulent dinner. but your child doesn’t agree with the idea: either he doesn’t want to sleep alone or he wants to stay in the living room watching TV. Or he relies on the well-known phrase ‘ I’m not sleepy ‘. Well, don’t panic because there are a series of tricks and routines. So that the journey to bed doesn’t turn into an obstacle course.
Adequate rest is essential in the life of a child not only for their personal well-being but for the well-being of the family as a whole. Little ones, depending on their age, need a specific number of hours to be able to be 100% the next day: up to two months between 10 and 17 hours a day is normal; from one to three years about 12 hours a day; from three to five years between 11 and 13 hours a day and from five years onwards the hours decrease until they reach 8-9 a day.
If You Get Up Early Naturally
ty in the morning. And also get up very early without needing to use an alarm clock. In these cases, try changing your bedtime to later.
“Something that could help him go to bed is that he doesn’t have to go to sleep but he does have to stay in bed. This way you change the goal and you can not be reluctant”, explains Dennis Rosen, Medical Director of the Children’s Sleep Disorders Center at Boston Children’s Hospital.
If You Hate Nap
Rosen is also the author of the book Successful Sleep Strategies for Kids (Sleep Strategies for children that work, in Spanish). And in it, he comments that “ a short nap can help children better manage their sleep hours ”.
If your child hates this break in the middle of the afternoon, it is best to develop a physical activity. After lunch and then organize a series of simpler games. Such as coloring or cutting: activities that will make him relax and can end in a nap.
If You Can’t Sleep Alone
Some children sleep without any problem as long as they are accompanied. This often happens in childhood because, according to Rosen, ” children need to feel safe and secure and therefore want their parents to sleep with them or vice versa.”
In order for children to start sleeping on their own, make sure that they are completely down. The ideal is to start bedtime 30 minutes earlier than usual. And when you get into bed say “I’ll be back”, to begin to separate gently. Each day extends the time to return a little longer.
If You Are A Night Owl
Noctambulism is represented by the tendency to carry out activities at night. Especially if they are activities that are carried out during the day. This affects adolescents more as their circadian rhythms change and the time they go to sleep is delayed.
An aspect that does not favor people who are night owls is watching television. Playing video games, or being on the computer just before going to bed. These routines must change and get used to being carried out, for example, on weekends.
Estivill explains that “if children do not rest the necessary hours, this can affect, for example, their height, since when we sleep we produce growth hormone and it can be affected if we do not sleep the right hours.”
Other problems of not getting enough rest can be a lack of concentration and learning problems. Or difficulties in understanding the emotions of others.
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