5 Ways To Help Your Child Sleep Through The Night

For a lot of parents sleep is a very pleasant, but vague memory

Posted on

21 July 2017

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Ways to help kids sleep through the night

Your little ones, soon or later, will eventually settle into a good, sleep-filled night. But until that day comes, you'll face peculiar timings when it comes to crying, feeding and general kiddy fun.

Luckily, inconsistencies through the night is only a phase; and as your child grows month by month, you can begin to encourage sleeping fully through the night. Our advice? Better to have a routine in place before your child reaches around 3 or 4 years old.

To help you in the right direction, here's 5 helpful tips to make your journey back to solid sleep a smooth one.

Ferberizing

A.k.a. The Ferber Method. This is perfect if your child is younger than a year, and works on the basis that your child makes associations with certain things when falling asleep.

If they're used to being rocked everything, then they will eventually get used to it and require it to fall asleep... Which in fact, may pose troublesome in the future.

Instead, calm your child and get the environment ready for them to sleep in; then, put them in their crib and let them fall asleep by themselves. By setting-up the environment, your child will begin to associate the sounds, lighting and smell with bedtime.

Unplug Before Bedtime

There are SO many distractions nowadays with technology, and sometimes this can actually hype your child up even more - and at the wrong time of the day.

Not to mention, the blue light emitted by most gadgets actually decreases the body's production of melatonin, which is important to help make you sleepy. To combat this for your kids (and yourself!) shut down and unplug those phones, tablets and even TVs at least 2 to 3 hours before bedtime to help you all unwind.

It would be the perfect time to enjoy some family cuddles and snuggles, and to get them ready for bed.

Create a Sleep-Inducing Environment

Turn off the lights - or if your child is scared of the dark - get them a night light. Give them soft sheets to sleep in, and ensure their room isn't too hot or cold.

Lastly, ensure that the house is quiet so that they don't feel like they're missing out on something. By creating this comfortable environment, getting them to sleep through the night will be a lot easier.

Start a Bedtime Routine

Routine is very important for children, especially going to be at the same time every night. Bathe them and dress them in their favourite pyjamas, and then chat with them for a bit and read a bedtime story together. This will help them to wind down, and begin to feel sleepy.

Get them a Sleepy Buddy

Who doesn't love to cuddle, right? Get your child a stuffed animal to cuddle up with at night. It will help to reduce any anxiety they may have, make them feel safe and like that they're not alone. This especially helps if they need to fall asleep in an unfamiliar place.

And remember...
Getting your child to sleep through the night might seem an impossible task at the beginning, but you will eventually get there.

Take a deep breath, and know that you are doing everything you can to help them sleep through the night. And before you know it, they will easily be sleeping through, leaving you to spend some quality time with your partner and get a couple of zZz's yourself.