Having a quality good night’s sleep is sometimes hard to achieve in adulthood. Recent technology can trace how many hours of quality sleep that we have each night by just wearing a smartwatch on our wrist to monitor that parameter.
In the end, adults normally faced sleep deprivation.
So do the kids!
While adults are longing for a good sleep, the kids may seem resistant to sleep. Especially when the school holiday started.
Here are 10 tips on how to put the kid to sleep for the parents who are still struggling
1. Create a consistent bedtime routine
Kids are very good at following the daily routine. So use this golden time to set their sleeping time right. Keep the activity before the sleep time a simple one and doesn’t require a lot of energy like running or climbing.
2. Create an environment that is conducive to sleep
Put your kid’s room environment into a sleep-inducing one. Dim the light and ensure that the ventilation and room temperature are in an idle situation. The room temperature should not be too hot or too cold. It is advisable to separate the room for play and the room for sleep. The kid will just focus to sleep when it is in the bedroom without toys.
3. Keep all the screen activity away 2 hours prior to sleep
One important factor that affects the mood to sleep is a hormone inside our body called melatonin. When the melatonin level is high, we tend to be sleepy and fall asleep fast. There are researches stating that the blue light which comes from the screen such as the mobile phone, television, tablet, or computer will inhibit the production of melatonin.
The lower level of melatonin causes the kids to not feel sleepy and elongates the alert time.
4. Make your kid feel safe especially at night
We can never expect how our kids feel at night. Some might develop a fear of the dark since kids. Some might develop strange imaginations on that. An as good parents, we need to identify this problem. Make time to have a chat with them and ask them about how do they feel at night? Do they have fear of the dark? If they say yes, then make the room a bit brighter when it reaches sleep time and create an environment safe.
5. Eat at the right amount and at the right time
Let the kids have a complete hearty meal at least 2 hours prior to bed. Eating too much or too little makes them feel hungry or uncomfortable to sleep. Giving a gap between the last meal and sleep also enhances the digestion process.
6. Avoid caffeinated beverages and foods
Caffeine promotes alertness by inhibiting the chemical in the brain that promotes sleep. Caffeine impacts sleep quality by making sleep become lighter and the consumer tends to awake easier, making it hard to fall asleep and causing a lack of sleep due to toilet activity. These are examples of food and beverages that should not be given to the kids when it is nearly late in the evening.
7. Set a wake-up call
Try to standardize the wake-up call every day although it is on the weekend. Yes! on the weekend too. This will make your life easier later on. For example, to go to bed at 9 pm and to wake up at 7 am every day. An hour plus early or later than this routine wake-up call on the weekend should be just fine.
8. For an older kid, keep the timing for the day nap short
Baby and younger kids need to sleep more than the older ones. Thus, a preschooler and older, usually will just skip the day nap or just take a short nap in the day. This will help them to fall asleep faster at night cause longer and naps passes at noon-time can make it harder for children to get to sleep at night.
9. Have an individual sleep duration
Research has shown sleep is essential for a child’s development, but the amount needed varies with age. Children aged 3-5 years should get 10 to 13 hours of sleep daily, including naps — while those aged 6-12 years should get 9 to 11 hours. Adults 18 years and older should aim to sleep between 7 and 9 hours.
10. Ensure that the kids didn't experience any sleeping disorder
Check on your kids whether they have trouble falling asleep, snore, and have persistent nightmares because this indicates they have a sleeping disorder. Talk to the pediatrician about this problem and let them suggest to you how to solve this. Never left it unattended.
The Bottom Line
Understandably, kids sometimes get on our nerves by being hyperactive at times and passing their sleeping time. But, parents need to know and study more about their physiology. Try applying these 10 tips and let see who is smarter.
