6 Tips to Help Your Child Get Quality Sleep
The right amount of sleep is paramount for your little one’s development both physically and mentally. The duration very much depends on the child’s age. As a rule of thumb the following applies to my five children: between the ages 1 and 2, 11 to 14 hours of sleep, pre-school age (3 to 5 years old) 10 to 13 hours and school children (6 to 13 years old) 9 to 11 hours.
So, why is counting those ZZZ’s so crucial to a child’s growth? One of the things that resonate with parents the most is their child’s mood and learning ability – sleep directly affects it, and none of you want those temper tantrums or phone calls from school because your son or daughter is grouchy and tired.
Sleep is essential to children’s health, influencing your child’s weight, immune system, and overall ability to regenerate and assimilate what they have learned during the day. Another bonus is that your precious offspring will be less accident prone and aware of his or her environment.
Need we go on? It is safe to say that sleep is one of the most important things in your kid’s young life. Here are some tips and tricks to help you on your way.
Choose the right mattress:
You as a parent can have a direct influence on this.
So what is important here; what should you consider?
I have found that a pocket-sprung mattress is better suited than the memory foam version. This is because, unlike many adults, children need firmness contrary to an adaptable surface. I assumed that a medium-hard mattress is better for my child’s spinal growth and so far I still need to be proven wrong.
Routine is everything:
I always prefer to have my son and daughter in bed before 9 pm. Also, I created a bedtime routine as a kind of introduction to sleep. My precious little ones automatically understand when their dad or I use the words, “Sweetie, it’s off to bed in half an hour.”
Think of your computer – it also needs a certain amount of time to shut down.
Monitor electronic interference:
Now we have all fallen victim to the so-called benefits of the digital nanny. Let’s face it; our kids love tablets, on-demand TV, and music.
If you have allotted a certain amount of digital playtime, make sure it comes to an end at least an hour before bedtime. Another thing, depending on your child’s age, make sure the usage time does not exceed an hour in the evenings. From my experience too much electronic playtime makes them irritable and excitable – not the ideal recipe to collect those ZZZs.
Reduce stress:
High levels of stress heighten cortisol levels in the body. As a result, your kid will have trouble falling asleep. A small tip here – keep those bedtime activities calm and the house quiet.
Make bedtime special:
I mention this point because the time before bed is the ideal moment for you to make your young one feel loved. You might have a small talk or tell them a story; anything that will detract from our hectic everyday lives and make their voyage to dreamland all the more comfortable.
The right sleeping environment is the way to go:
Letting my kids have a big say in the way we designed their rooms was a huge boon.
Makes sense right? We all sleep better in an environment in which we feel comfortable and safe. Take care of those stuffed animals too; one or two is fine but having a bed full of them is counterproductive. And I always keep lighting to a minimum and make sure that the temperature is not too high or too low.
As a last bit of advice, be mindful and respectful of your child’s fears. It may sound silly to you, but to them, it is vital. A small something like imaginary magic pajamas or a brave teddy bear can go along way in creating peace in their mind.
Sleep: The Best Gift to Your Child’s Intelligence
As parents, we are faced with an onslaught of products that claim to improve our child’s learning and intelligence. Manufacturers of toys, games, and electronic devices all try to convince us that they will make all the difference in your child’s development.
It turns out that perhaps the easiest gift we can give our child’s developing brain is sleep. We all know the importance of sleep, but new research links sleep directly to the development of executive function in young kids.
Why is Executive Function Important?
You may have heard the phrase “executive function” thrown around in education circles. What does it really mean? Simply put, executive function is the mental processes that help you regulate your behavior. Things like impulse control, working memory and planning are all part of executive function.
From this description you can probably tell how important executive function is to kids performance in school, and perhaps more importantly, their functioning in later life. Kids who lack executive functioning skills often appear to be misbehaving or defiant. In reality, their brain just doesn’t yet have the skills to regulate their behavior well.
The Link to Sleep
Think back to the last night you lost a night’s sleep. How did you feel the next day? Groggy, slow-moving, perhaps even clumsy or forgetful? This is a perfect example of how sleep affects executive control. Without proper sleep even we adults are not at the top of our mental game in terms of executive function. Now imagine this same scenario in children, who have not fully developed their executive control anyway.
Past research has clearly linked sleep loss to poor executive function in elementary age children. In these groups, children who lose sleep either due to medical problems or purposefully in lab settings often experience deficits in cognitive skills and the ability to pay attention.
We are just now understanding, however, the ways in which sleep might affect executive function in very young children. The newest study on this topic looks at children as young as 12-18 months of age. While these kids have not developed a great deal of executive function skills, it is still possible to see differences.
The results of this study found that among kids who had more overall night sleep, their executive function skills were higher than among kids who had less overall night sleep. Additionally, the area that showed the most difference was executive functions that centered on impulse control.
As parents, we all know what this looks like in real-life. Your toddler skips a nap or gets to bed too late one night and they are a mess the next day. Cranky, unable to follow the simplest instructions and cries at the drop of a hat. Now multiply this by weeks or months of inadequate sleep and you can get a picture of how sleep really affects executive function.
So, forget all the fancy gadgets and electronic games. If you want your child to develop their intellect and executive function in the best possible way—just let them sleep as much as they can.
Improve Your Young Child’s Sleep
As parents know all too well, young children are notorious for resisting sleep. Just the mention of bedtime can sometimes set off a toddler tantrum.
Help your little bundle of energy head to dreamland and get the rest he needs with these toddler sleep tips.
Create a quiet routine
A game of chase or dancing around to music may seem like a surefire way to tire out your toddler, but a quiet, soothing routine before bed is a better choice for sleep success. Try reading a story together or giving your child a bath right before bedtime. Practice makes perfect, and repeating your bedtime ritual every night will help signal to your toddler that it’s time to get ready for sleep.
Be consistent
To establish a good sleep pattern, try to put your toddler to bed at the same time every night. Your tot may resist going to bed (can you blame him for not wanting to miss out on the after-hours fun?), but remaining firm about the rules will help a fuss-free bedtime become the norm instead of the exception.
Give your toddler a “lovey”
Letting your toddler sleep with her favorite blanket, teddy bear, or toy will help comfort her, especially if she wakes up in the middle of the night. Let her choose her lovey, but make sure what she picks is safe — avoid toys or stuffed animals with ribbons, buttons, or anything that could be considered a choking hazard.
Set up the bedroom for success
A room that’s quiet, dark, and set to a comfortable temperature will encourage your toddler to fall — and stay — asleep. Before you tuck your child in, check that she has everything she needs to get through the night. This will decrease the chance that she’ll call you back to her bedroom. If she does cry out for you, resist the urge to rush in immediately. Instead, wait 15 seconds before reentering the room. If she calls out multiple times, gradually increase the amount of time you wait to go in, giving her the chance to fall back asleep without your help.
Keep an eye on naptime
Most young children this age need between 12 and 14 hours of sleep each day, which can be split up between nighttime sleeping and daytime naps. But snoozing too late in the day can cause your toddler to have difficulty dozing off in the evening. If this is the case, slowly inch back the time of day she naps (a drastic change can completely throw off her schedule). If she goes to day care, try to have naptime there and at home be as consistent as possible.
Following these guidelines should help bedtime go more smoothly over time. Of course, life can sometimes get in the way, but if it does, just aim to get back on track the next evening.
Looking For A Stress-Free Way to Get Your Toddler to Bed?
By the end of the day, you’re wiped out. But your energetic toddler is still up and about — and fighting your every attempt at getting him to sleep.
It’s normal for toddlers to resist bedtime. They want to continue the fun, and they don’t want to separate from you. But getting enough sleep is essential for your toddler’s healthy development, not to mention your sanity. Here’s how to help your child slow down, switch gears, and head off into the Land of Nod.
1. Create a routine
Start each night with a relaxing routine that will set the stage for going to sleep. Changing into pajamas, brushing his teeth, and washing his face every night will help establish that these are the things that happen before bedtime. Other calming activities include listening to quiet music, reading a story, or giving him a bath. Resist the urge to play with your toddler at this hour, since it will only get him more excited than relaxed.
2. Be consistent
Stick with the same routine every night, so your toddler learns to expect that bedtime is coming. Soon he’ll know what’s expected of him, too.
3. Make it comfortable
Let your child take her beloved teddy bear or blanket to bed with her. Allow one drink of water. Turn on a nightlight before closing the door. Taking care of your toddler’s comforts will make it easier for her to relax — and give her fewer excuses for climbing out of bed again.
4. Pause before answering a call
Children this age are likely to call out to you after you leave the room. Resist the urge to respond every time your toddler cries out, and wait several seconds before answering. With each time she calls for you, wait a few seconds longer, which will give her the chance to fall asleep before you respond. When you do answer, remind her that it’s bedtime. If you go into her room, don’t turn on the light or stay too long.
5. Be patient
Teaching a toddler good sleep habits doesn’t happen overnight. And it isn’t easy, since toddlers love your companionship. But keep doing the same thing every night. Eventually, your toddler will learn to go along with the plan.
4 Essential Sleep Habits for Kids
A good night’s sleep for grade-schoolers and teens means at least 9 hours of solid shut-eye, according to the National Institute of Health. For preschoolers, it’s 10-13 hours, and for babies it’s up to 17. But many kids are falling short … and paying the price.
New research from The University of Chicago suggests that youngsters who don’t get enough rest are more than four times as likely to be obese as their well-rested counterparts; sleep deprivation has been shown to disrupt levels of chemicals that regulate appetite. And Spanish researchers recently found that kids who don’t log an adequate amount of shut-eye are more likely to struggle in the classroom, where poor sleep habits hinder their motivation and compromise their ability to concentrate, memorize, write and spell.
One of the biggest sleep-snatchers is electronics, according to Timothy F. Hoban, director of pediatric sleep medicine at the University of Michigan Medical Center. “Thirty years ago, there were no game systems, personal computers or mobile phones. This technology is now commonplace and often available in the child’s own room,” he says. But bad sleep habits are also to blame.
Here are Hoban’s top tips for getting your kids’ sleep situation under control:
- Keep a regular bedtime schedule: Not just on school days, but seven days a week. “Children who are weekend night owls or sleep in on the weekends will often have a very different sleep pattern than they do on weekdays, increasing the likelihood for insomnia during the week and making it more difficult for them to fall asleep at an appropriate time on school nights,” says Hoban.
- Establish and follow a regular bedtime routine: Easing the transition to nighttime sleep is almost as crucial for older kids as it is for young ones. About 15-30 minutes before bedtime, try to establish a calm atmosphere in the house. Pry kids away from electronics and encourage them to chill out for a while and read. Make it clear that computers, handheld games and phones must be turned off for the night.
- Balance and prioritize: After-school activities are great. But if your child is so overscheduled that she’s up late doing homework and tossing in bed over all she has to do, it’s time to identify what’s really important … and eliminate the activities that aren’t.
- Walk the walk: No need to hit the sack at 8 p.m. However, parents who have regular sleep patterns and healthy sleep habits are important role models for their kids. That means not keeping the house hopping till the wee hours on an ongoing basis. And maybe even moving the television out of your bedroom. You might just end up better-rested yourselves.
Does Your Child Have a Sleep Disorder?
It’s not just about being drowsy during the day. Hyperactivity, poor grades, and social problems are all potential consequences of a childhood sleep disorder. According to a University of Arizona study, kids with sleep apnea are six times more likely to have behavioral problems, and seven times more likely to have learning disabilities. The good news? Sleeping disorders are highly treatable. Here’s how to spot the signs in your child.
1. Insomnia
The inability to fall and/or stay asleep is the most common of all pediatric sleeping disorders, affecting about 25 percent of all children, says Dr. Rosenberg.
Signs: Daytime fatigue/napping, inability to get up on time, and moodiness are all signs of this sleep disorder. “After they finally do get out of bed,” explains Rosenberg, “kids have a tough time getting themselves going.”
Next steps: The first step is improving your child’s sleep hygiene, or habits that can help their circadian cycle. For toddlers and preschoolers, a set bedtime and wake-up time, along with a bedtime routine like a bath and story, is key. For older kids, the problem is often technology use right before — and often in — bed. Light, including from electronics, suppresses melatonin, the sleep hormone. Pull the plug (literally, if you must) on computers, tablets, and Smartphones two hours before bed.
For all ages, nix caffeine (including sneaky sources like some clear sodas, sports drinks, vitamin-infused beverages, and chocolate) six hours pre-bed.
It seems logical that tiring a kid out will encourage sleep. Actually, the opposite can be true. Tag, sport practices, even rousing Wii games within two hours of bedtime raise the core body temperature and make it harder to nod off.
If none of the above seem to help, a call to the pediatrician is a must.
2. Sleep Apnea
If your child is suffering from sleep apnea, she may stop breathing periodically during sleep. This disorder is more common in younger children than teenagers, peaking between the ages of 2 and 8.
Signs: Younger sufferers are often hyperactive, which can be mistaken for ADHD. Other signs include snoring, bedwetting after age six, and frequent sleepwalking, notes Rosenberg. In adolescents, look for unexplained grogginess. Other signs include an inability to pay attention in school and forgetfulness.
Next steps: An overnight sleep study, usually performed at a hospital-run facility, will diagnose sleeping disorders like sleep apnea. Not to worry: you’ll sleep there with your child, and the rooms are usually quite comfortable. If the diagnosis is confirmed, you’ll discuss solutions – like removal of your child’s tonsils and/or adenoids, or nightly use of a CPAP machine. There are no shortcuts, though. “You have to have a sleep study first before any insurer will pay for a CPAP machine,” notes Rosenberg.
3. Delayed Sleep Phase Syndrome
This sleep disorder affects a child’s circadian rhythm, the natural cycle that regulates sleep patterns.
Signs: Children have a hard time getting up, staying awake in school, and actively participating in social events.
Next steps: If you suspect delayed sleep phase syndrome, start keeping a sleep diary. Write down when your child falls asleep and wakes up, including any middle of the night rousings. Also note any problematic episodes, such as a teacher report that your child nodded off in class. After doing this for at least two weeks, take the information to your pediatrician, who will diagnosis the sleep disorder based on your child’s medical history and your notes.
If it’s your child is diagnosed with delayed sleep phase syndrome, treatment typically includes bright light exposure in the morning and keeping the child’s bedroom completely dark at night. “Stick to a strict bedtime/wake-up schedule, and don’t vary it on days off from school,” instructs Rosenberg. You may want to consider a melatonin supplement at bedtime for delayed sleep phase syndrome, but check with your pediatrician first.
Sleeping disorders or not, there are a few simple steps that can help the whole family get a more refreshing night’s sleep. Cool is better than warm in bedrooms: 65 to 70 F is ideal, says Rosenberg. Avoid strong, unpleasant odors — that means no late-night painting projects for you, and no manicures in bed for your tween daughter. Lastly, there’s anecdotal evidence that the scent of lavender encourages sleep. Sweet dreams!
