Ever find it hard to get your kids to bed on time so that they have a good amount of energy and concentration for the next day? Well, different children have their own body clock, energy level, sleep cycle and habits. We found 3 basic yet important tips that all parents may already be aware of but did not put much attention to. Parents should take a try and consider adjusting these methods to help their children get ample rest. You may find your ideal trick here!
Know how much sleep your child should be getting
Sleeping hours and habits tend to vary according to your children’s age. It also depends on the total hours of sleep in a day, napping hours, night sleeping hours and their sleep cycle. Knowing these will help you to gauge your child’s sleeping needs and allow you to organize and instill better and more suited sleeping habits for them. Here is a rough gauge of sleep hours children of different age should get-
1 to 4 weeks old: Approximately 16 to 17 hours
1 to 4 months old: Approximately 16 to 17 hours
4 months to 1 year old: 14 to 15 hours
1 to 3 years old: 12 to 14 hours
3 to 6 years old: 11 to 12 hours
7 to 12 years old: 10 to 12 hours
13 to 18 years old: 8 to 10 hours
Work and arrange the total number of hours your child should get and this might improve their well being as well.
Instill a bedtime routine
Create a bedtime routine that helps adjust your child’s body clock. As children go through their developmental stage, they are all about habits and structures. They thrive in having structures that give them a sense of assurance and security. Instilling a sleep routine will allow their body to understand the need of sleep at a certain timing and their body will develop habits that prepare and helps them to get ample rest. With a routine, your child may automatically feel the need to sleep when their sleep time is up and it will be less of a chore to get them to sleep eventually. At the same time, it is important to monitor the number of sleep hours by setting a wake-up time. Different children are different types of sleepers and may crave for different hours of sleep. Thus, take note of the hours that they sleep and adjust to what suits them the best. Set an ideal wake up time to instill good sleeping habits and to monitor ample rest instead of too much or too little.
Come up with before bedtime activities
Think of activities that your children will love to do so that they will look forward to bedtime instead of throwing a tantrum. Forcing your children to sleep may make bedtime seem scary as they perceive it as a long period of time away from their parents or from playtime, hence it provokes anxiety. Creating fun and relaxing activities that will lead them to a calm and relaxed state of mind will relieve potential anxiety, make them feel at ease and be ready for sleep. Activities such as creating a role play involving each family member as a character, dress one another up for bedtime or simply have story time with silly voices or a no-laughing rule can make bedtime such a good bonding opportunity as well. It will help to relieve your child’s stress and from having negative thoughts.
Parents should begin by making adjustments to these fundamentals to instill good bedtime habits before wondering if their children are just being difficult or even start comparing their kids with others. Stay patient and positive and remember to start with the fundamentals first. When your children’s bedtime habits are well adjusted, you will be getting your restful nights more often as well!