Learn to help your kids fall asleep fast with these simple tips you can start today. Additionally, learn the sensory tricks that can completely alter your child’s sleeping habits. Tips for sensory issues, sensory seekers, sensory processing disorder, autism, and ADHD are extremely important.
Please continue reading so I can show you the post’s more in-depth information.
Table of Contents
Help Your Kids Fall Asleep Fast
For some parents, putting their children to bed at night can be a hassle. Consequently, the advice that follows is provided to assist you.
Make A Routine
Is it implausible to think that you can get your child to fall asleep by putting their body in that state? Set up a routine for him so that he can become sleepy without protesting. For instance, dinner, homework, a glass of milk, and then going to bed.
Provide A Good Sleep Environment
According to studies, a child’s surroundings have a significant impact on how well they sleep. Reduced noise levels, little lighting, and the ideal temperature are a few examples. It follows that if you live in a noisy neighborhood, you should make sure to close the windows and lock the doors. There is no harm in turning off the lights, even if it slows down your child’s ability to fall asleep if he isn’t afraid of the dark. Lastly, during the summer, make sure your child’s room has a functioning air conditioner or cooler.
Bed Time Stories
This is a great way to make bedtime more enjoyable for preschoolers. Contrary to popular belief, reading bedtime stories is not just for adoring parents. Children under the age of six have reported having better sleep when bedtime stories are read to them and made a regular part of their routine. Making a voice recording of the story’s narration is an option for those who are employed. You can also embed instructions into the narrative by saying things like, “now turn the page to see what happens next!”.
No Electronic Gadgets Before Bedtime
Your children will be disobedient, but if you want them to get a good night’s sleep, you may need to be a little strict. Studies have shown that the light from phones, TVs, and computers prevents the pineal gland’s hormone melatonin, which aids in sleep induction, from being produced.
Correct Diet
It’s true—the way your child eats can have an impact on how well he sleeps. As it may interfere with sleep, refrain from allowing him to indulge in sweets and desserts after dinner. Eating fatty foods and sweet treats has been known to interfere with sleep, according to a Columbia University study. Bananas can be consumed instead because they contain tryptophan, which is known to help with insomnia. Feeding your children meals with plenty of fiber will also help them fall asleep.
Make Bed Time Fun
You might require your children to go to bed at a certain time in order to get them to do so. Although it might occasionally be effective, you never know whether they are deep in thought while they are covered up. Instead, what can be done, especially for preschoolers, is for them to have a favorite toy that they can only hug at night. To get to bed early, this will serve as a motivator.
Be On The Lookout For Signs Of Sleep Disorders
Your child may have a sleep disorder if they still struggle to fall asleep despite your efforts to establish a regular bedtime routine and adapt it to meet each child’s unique needs. Keep a close eye on your child’s sleeping habits at night as well as how they behave and behave during the day. The presence of behavioral issues at home or school, difficulty focusing on homework, or persistent daytime fatigue could be symptoms of an underlying sleep disorder.
Communication
It’s crucial to talk to older children (ages 5-8) before bed because their school can be challenging and they may be dealing with anxiety issues. Sleep deprivation has been linked to anxiety, so if your child is having trouble falling asleep, this might be the cause. Talk to them about their studies or any other topic you think may be affecting them. Even if a solution is not available, talking is beneficial and can promote better sleep.
Waking Schedule
There should be a schedule for waking up, just like there is for sleeping. In the event that you let them sleep in, they will have to rush to get to school. As a result, if you try waking them up earlier in the day, you’ll notice that they fall asleep much earlier than usual.
Exercise
Exercise is beneficial for more than just staying fit, according to a study from Monash University in Australia. It also helps you sleep well. Ensure that your children have enough playtime in the evening. Although playing outside is a great form of exercise, your kids won’t see it that way. You can put this advice into practice without needing reminders, too!
Avoid Eating And Drinking
Since it is a stimulant, caffeine is generally not good for kids. If you do permit your kid to have a soft drink now and then, make sure they don’t consume any beverages with caffeine or sugar three hours before bedtime. Before going to bed, snacks are fine as long as they’re wholesome and not overly filling. Give your child a warm glass of milk or a light, healthy snack like fruit or crackers if they ask for food or drink right before bed. See more about Why Doesn’t Coffee Wake Me Up?
Encourage Self Soothing
Anxiety may be a constant in the lives of older children. Even though you may have discussed any problems they might have with them, they might wake up in the middle of the night. Encourage them to control their emotions and contact you only in extreme cases.
Sleep is essential for brain growth, and if your children get enough sleep at regular intervals, their brains will function well all day. The aforementioned advice should assist in achieving the desired result because they require between 10 and 13 hours of sleep per day.
See more about Baby Sleeping With Mouth Open
Why Do Some Children Have Sleep Problems?
Understanding why the issue exists in the first place is a necessary step in learning how to help your child sleep and regain your life. Because occasionally even a small adjustment to your routine can have a significant impact on how easily your child falls asleep. These are some typical—and frequently disregarded—reasons why children have trouble sleeping, as well as adults.)
Too Much Sleep
It’s simpler than you might imagine to take this for granted, especially as our children grow older and enter the toddler, preschool, and even school-age years. This is due to the fact that their actual sleep needs are constantly fluctuating.
The amount of sleep that a 3-year-old needs differs from that of an 18-month-old, and sometimes a lengthy afternoon nap prevents them from being ready for bed by 8 o’clock at night. Check out How Much Sleep Does My Child Need for specific guidelines for your kiddo!
Too Little Sleep
Although it’s a common misconception that children will sleep more quickly when they’re exhausted, this isn’t always the case. Instead, it’s challenging to get their minds out of the overdrive mode they’ve been in when they are overly exhausted.
Try putting your child to bed even earlier if they are under the recommended age ranges and still have trouble falling asleep. In fact, it might make them sleep more quickly.
Diet
Contrary to popular belief, children with food allergies or sensitivities may have trouble falling asleep or staying asleep through the night. If your child is inconsistently having trouble sleeping, it would be helpful to keep a food diary and see if you can track any patterns, like “every time Suzie has a restless night after consuming dairy.”
If the issue persists every single night, you should speak to your doctor about potential testing or trying a brief food elimination diet to identify a potential offender. Dr. Amy Myers has additional warning signs for food sensitivities and advice on how to treat them.
Screen Time
Although kids will frequently sit quietly and enjoy playing on their tablet or watching a show, the activity and glow from the screens can actually keep their minds very alert and prevent them from feeling tired. They may be even more energized after watching a screen! You might want to try removing screen time from your evening routine for a short while if it is a regular part of your routine. Find out more about the link between screen time and sleep here.
In addition, even though it’s not right before bed, if your child has spent a lot of time watching television throughout the day, they probably haven’t engaged in enough physical activity and won’t feel tired either. I say this without passing judgment.
Sensory
Additionally, I refer to sensory processing when I use the term sensory. This refers to how our children process information in their minds after ingesting it with their seven senses (don’t forget proprioception and vestibular). It’s not often thought about, but if a child isn’t processing that sensory information well, it can throw them off balance.
Sleep can be severely impacted by problems with sensory processing, which affect far more children than most people realize. Most of us take it for granted that we can calm our bodies down enough to fall asleep, but doing that for a child who requires more or less sensory input can be very difficult.
If you’re new to sensory processing, you’re going to want to check out What is Sensory?for more!
In a moment, we’ll discuss some effective sensory techniques for children, but for the time being, remember that sensory techniques can influence how quickly any child falls asleep, even if your child has no sensory issues at all.
The Basics To Help A Kid Fall Sleep
Before we get to those trans-formative sensory tricks, there are some other basic tools you’ll need to help a kid get to sleep:
Have A Routine
Establish a routine before going to bed if you don’t do anything else. The readiness of your child to fall asleep will be greatly affected by doing the same things in the same order each and every night. It doesn’t have to be anything complicated. In our home, we take a bath or shower, change into pajamas, brush our teeth, cuddle up, say a prayer, read a few stories, tuck ourselves into bed, and turn on a soft nightlight and lullaby music.
You may have a very different routine than ours, but you get the idea. Consistency is key; for the routine to be effective, it must be carried out on most nights.
Give Enough Time
I’m usually so exhausted by 8 o’clock that it’s easy to start the routine later than I had intended. However, the less time I give myself, the busier the routine will be. And all that activity doesn’t exactly promote sleep.
If you frequently rush through bedtime, consider adjusting your start time so that you have enough time to give your child the peace and calm they need to fall asleep. This is crucial for children who struggle to switch between activities or who also incorporate sensory strategies into their daily routines; more on that in a moment.
Trial And Error
Before you begin your child’s bedtime routine, start observing what they are doing. Are they playing on their iPAD, playing outside, and eating a snack? Think about whether or not that activity may be affecting their ability to fall asleep.
The truth is that your child is totally unique, despite the fact that I can offer a ton of advice and techniques that generally work for kids. As a result, while a snack before bed may put one child to sleep, it may keep another child up later. You can start to identify any potential sabotages or sleep-aid providers by outlining what worked and what didn’t.
Finding patterns will be essential as you think about what sensory techniques might benefit your child.
Why Does Deep Breathing Actually Help Kids?
The benefits of deep breathing allow the body to relax and slow down by reducing both your own and your child’s heart rates. You can literally feel your heart rate slow down, your mind get quieter, and your whole body physically relax. You can literally feel your child’s heart rate slow down, as they start to relax and melt right into you. I always breathe deeply while hugging myself because of this. It covers you and your kid like a sedative that helps you fall asleep.
I often use this technique with my sweet little boy and wonder, “Is it really so easy?”
It’s pretty amazing that something like deep breathing is the solution to a bedtime problem when parenting feels so excessively difficult and stressful.
Turns out,
sometimes kids just need their moms,
and a big giant hug,
and a few deep breaths to go along with it.
Conclusion
How to put kids to bed on time every night is one of the most common parental worries when it comes to sleep and kids. At some point, nearly all parents have struggled to get their kids to sleep, and for many parents, bedtime is a recurring nightmare. It seems strange that children need much more sleep than adults do, but many of them struggle mightily to fall asleep. Everyone in the family may experience poor sleep as a result, putting stress on parents and kids alike.
Thank you for reading.