How to put a child to sleep: tips for parents

According to statistics, about 25% of children have trouble sleeping. This indicator covers all age groups — from birth to 18 years. The problem concerns not only children, but also their parents. The nightly tantrums of a preschooler, the restless sleep of a baby, the exhausting owl regime of a teenager — adults constantly have to figure out how to put the child to bed. In our article, we will look at sleep disorders in children from different age groups and tell you what parents need to do.

 Sleep disorders in infants

The normal amount of sleep for a child under six months is 11-18 hours.

And the average duration of the sleep cycle during the day is 3 hours, at night — 4-5 hours. Everything that fits into this framework is considered the absolute norm. But what if the baby sleeps for an hour or can't sleep for a long time? 

Parents should study the most common causes of sleep disorders in babies up to a year old:

1. Excess of impressions.Occurs when the emotions received by the child during wakefulness are too bright.

They can be provoked by unfamiliar places and people, loud noises, unusual surroundings, long trips. 

Try not to overload the crumb with impressions during the day. If this is a hike for a walk, then choose a quiet, sparsely populated place. If a meeting with friends / family, then in a narrow circle and for a short time. 

2. Pain in the tummy, teething, etc.Babies can't tell their parents what exactly is bothering them, so they signal pain by crying.

The consequence of many hours of sobbing is a shallow and short sleep. Or its complete absence.

To alleviate the condition of the baby, use medications, but only in consultation with the pediatrician. For abdominal pain — herbal remedies, probiotics, enterosorbents. From the teeth — gels with local anesthesia, painkillers in the form of syrup or candles. Monitor the baby's body temperature, frequency and number of bowel movements. This will help your doctor to correctly diagnose or correct a previous appointment.

3. Patterns of falling asleep are broken. If the baby is used to rocking before going to bed, then it is unlikely that it will be possible to put him in a stationary crib.

It is not easy to get rid of the habit of falling asleep under certain conditions, so it is better not to create laying rituals for infants. Ideally, the baby should fall asleep anywhere — when he needs it. But if the habit is formed, do not switch to another mode of falling asleep too abruptly.Learn how to give your child everything he needs for proper development and emotional health - at Dmitry Karpachev's transplant-free online master class "What every parent should know". 

4. Biorhythm failure. A night's sleep is longer than a day's sleep, but illness or other factors can lead to a malfunction of the child's biorhythms.

During the day he can sleep for a long time, and at night he can wake up every 2-3 hours or not sleep at all.

In the morning, open the curtains, turn on the lights and cheerful music. Demonstrate to the baby that now is the time for games, feeding and walking. Your task is to distract the child from the desire to sleep for a long time during the day. But you should be prepared for tantrums from lack of sleep. 

Monitor the condition of the child and respond to his needs, even though he does not choose the right time for sleeping. Over time, the day and night regime will definitely improve. 

5. The baby does not eat enough. The composition of breast milk varies depending on the mother's diet.

If there is not enough protein food in it, then the child will have few useful substances. Also, the reason may lie in the wrong application: the breast is difficult to suck, the baby gets tired quickly and falls asleep literally from fatigue, and not from a feeling of satiety.

Malnutrition has symptoms — low dynamics of weight gain or even weight loss, as well as a decrease in the daily amount of urine. Solve this problem with a pediatrician or a breastfeeding consultant. 

The same tips for children on artificial nutrition. Replace the mixture or bottle, and sleep will get better. 

Also read: A child wakes up in the middle of the night, cries and is afraid: what to do?Difficulty falling asleep in children 3-6 years old

How to quickly put a child of this age to bed?

The answer is obvious — no way. Preschoolers live in a state of increased physical activity and intense knowledge of the world. Their days are full of impressions, and it's too pathetic to waste time sleeping. That is, they will go to bed, but not the fact that they will fall asleep instantly.

Running and jumping children become calmer only in the evening, and then if appropriate conditions are created for them. Offer quiet activities: reading books, board games, creativity. It is also important to monitor the diet: sweets increase blood sugar levels, excessive energy is produced, so even one candy for dinner can provoke difficulties with packing. 

But all these are just features of the age period that do not indicate the presence of violations. But real problems with sleep always have a root cause. For example:

1. Emotional turmoil.Children are very sensitive to any changes in their habitual environment and emotional atmosphere in the family.

They begin to act up, demand more attention from their parents, need explanations and hugs to regain a sense of their former comfort. And, accordingly, they fall asleep badly.

If you could not protect the child from contemplating your problems and life troubles, then at least try to soften the blow. Be there, explain to the baby that everything will be fine, protect him from further shocks. 

2. The child was moved to his room.A child's joint sleep with his mother is a normal physiological need for children under 3 years old.

However, in the fourth year of life, it is already necessary to move the baby from the parent's bed to his own. And this can cause difficulties when laying.

A little trick will help you — stretch the process of "moving" in time. First put the baby's bed in the parents' room, let him sleep there. After a few weeks, put the baby in his room, but do not leave him alone until he falls asleep. Gradually, you will come to fall asleep on your own.

3. The child is afraid to be alone. He has some kind of irrational fear.

For example: a crocodile will come out from under the closet and bite. It's a great idea to have a plush friend as an amulet toy. He will protect the child while he sleeps. 

If a child 6-7 years old has night terrors, then parents should explain to him that there are no crocodiles, ghosts and zombies. The fear of darkness is overcome by a beautiful night light with a soft glow, and the fear of loneliness is overcome by a pleasant conversation with parents before going to bed.

Learn how to raise a child so that he feels protected and develops correctly - at Dmitry Karpachev's transplant-free online master class "What every parent should know".Right now, click on the "Register" button and get a gift.

Do I need to put my child to bed for a nap

Many children sleep during the day up to the first grade and even longer.

But there are also those who refuse daytime sleep already in 3-4 years. 

Whether a particular child needs a nap is difficult to say. If during the day he has active walks, workouts and outdoor games, then a little rest at lunch will help relieve nervous and muscular tension, charge with cheerfulness until the evening. 

Here are some tips on how to put your child to sleep during the day:the laying time should not change, deviations of +/- 15 min are allowed.;

• organize comfortable conditions for falling asleep — dim light in the room, silence, pleasant light music;
• stay close, lie down with the child, tell him something;
• do not force to sleep if the baby protests. Suggest just lying down in silence and recuperating.

By the way, some peoples have no culture at all to put their children to sleep during the day. For example, in the UK, children do not sleep during the day, but in the evening they go to bed very early — at 7-8 pm.

How to put a schoolboy child to bed Most of the causes of sleep disorders in schoolchildren are associated with mental overload during the day.

It is rare for a modern child to focus only on studying. In addition to her, he goes in for sports, attends clubs, studies with the help of tutors. 

A busy schedule leads to a lack of rest during the day. And in the evening, the child suffers from insomnia, cannot "turn off" his head and relax. What can parents do:it is necessary to reconsider the number of extracurricular activities and leave only those that bring the most pleasure.

• At least the weekends should be completely free;
• a warm bath and a glass of milk before going to bed will speed up falling asleep;
• limit physical and mental activity in the evening, it is better to do lessons right after school;
• there should be clean and cool air in the child's room;
• for dinner, cook light meals: a working gastrointestinal tract will not allow you to fall asleep quickly;
• before going to bed, read your child his favorite book or just chat about how his day went.

Teen sleeps little: what's the problem?Most likely, by this age, parents have already figured out how to put their child to bed.

They have developed rituals and the habit of living in a certain schedule. However, sleep disorders in adolescents happen no less often than in younger children. Why?

1. Rebellion against the rules. The teenager understands that at 22:00 the life of adults does not stop.

They watch movies, finish their business, read, communicate. Why does he need to go to bed?

To motivate a child to adhere to the daily routine, it is necessary to explain the age norms of sleep. If 7-8 hours are enough for an adult to have a good rest, then for children 13-18 years old you need to sleep at least 9 hours. 

3. Gadget mania. This is the scourge of modernity, and you probably won't be able to protect your child from it.

Computer games, "hanging out" in social networks, correspondence in chat rooms are not just time eaters, but also the cause of difficulties with falling asleep.

Information from the Internet can be different, not always pleasant and positive. An excited teenager will think for a long time about what he saw and heard, so he will not fall asleep, even if he goes to bed on time. 

Filtering content from the network and a limit on the use of gadgets (for example, 1-2 hours a day) will help to cope with this problem. 

4. Stress, anxiety, emotional outbursts.Hormonal storms in adolescence can cause insomnia.

The child wants to sleep, but just can't. In this case, you need to consult with a therapist or neurologist about taking mild sedatives or sleeping pills. 

Also, working with a psychologist, walking before going to bed, reading, yoga, giving up gadgets in the evening will help. You need to stop drinking coffee, Coca-Cola and energy drinks.

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Experienced parents know how difficult it can be to put their children to bed. And also how much strength and nerves it takes to restore sleep and wakefulness. There is only one recipe here — to try to find the cause of sleep disturbance and solve it point-by-point.Good luck!