Sweet Dreams Are Made of These

Posted by Born Smart Comms on July 31st, 2017

Sweet dreams! “Bed-time-battles”, and how to solve them.

The most common every day or rather every night problem that all parents face is putting their child to sleep. You are indeed a lucky parent if your child goes to sleep without any fuss!

Most children resist going to bed because children are born ‘learners’ and feel that they will ‘miss out on the fun’ by going to bed and hence they fight sleep and try to postpone it as much as they can. And thus, starts the “bed-time-battle” between the child and the parent.

A parent needs to set a bed time routine. Because children like repetition and can identify with a routine. So, a regular bed time routine will help them go to bed without any hassles.

A routine can be keeping in mind your child’s likes and activities of interest. For example, for a child who likes to play a game before bedtime, choose a game that will get over before bedtime. Avoid long one that takes time to end and will not be able to complete, so that the baby will not be restless in bed.

So, the routine can be: game time, bath time, brush your teeth time and goodnight time for an older child.

Or it can be: bath time, brush time, story time and goodnight time for a younger child.

It is very important to keep in mind the child’s age while choosing the routine

A toddler who has been hyper active throughout the day now needs to wind down before going to bed and hence doing toddler activities like jumping in bed or somersaulting etc. will only help in getting him more active and will hence not serve the purpose. You need to have soothing activities like a soft rhyme session or a hug and cuddle time or a short and happy story.

Or a tickle time! Surprised? Well, have you ever been tickled? if you have, you will remember the complete warm and ‘loose’ feeling that your muscles experience after a good session. A very good relaxation!

Stories are a favorite of all children and parents as a bed time activity.

Here again a parent must choose the right kind of story. If you will tell a frightening or scary story you will only end up making your child nervous and be a reason for his bed wetting.so choose stories which are warm and happy and can bring a smile on your child’s face.

It is very important for a parent to remember any routine should be flexible and not set in stone. On certain days deviating from the routine may happen because of a party or a guest or illness but regardless of the interruption, it is essential to get back to your routine as soon as possible to let the child know that deviations are exceptions and not forever.

So, have a good night’s sleep every night!