Getting enough high-quality sleep is essential for a child’s growth, development, and overall wellbeing. Children who regularly get an adequate amount of sleep are happier, healthier, more focused, and better behaved. Establishing healthy sleep habits early on can benefit children for life. Sleep allows a child’s brain and body to recharge, promoting learning, attention, memory, emotional regulation, and overall health.
Creating a Relaxing Pre-Bed Routine
A consistent, relaxing bedtime routine is key to ensuring your child winds down properly before bed. Experts recommend beginning the routine 60-90 minutes before your desired bedtime. Calm activities like taking a bath, reading books, practicing mindfulness or meditation, listening to soothing music, and dimming the lights can help prepare both the mind and body for sleep. Avoid high-energy play and screen time close to bed. Keep nighttime routines the same each evening so your child knows what to expect. Consistency, quietness, and low lighting signals to the brain that it’s time to produce melatonin to induce sleepiness.
Setting Up the Ideal Sleep Environment
Make sure your child’s bedroom promotes healthy sleep. Use blackout curtains or an eye mask to block excess light. Keep sound machines or white noise apps running to mask abrupt noises. Ensure the bedroom isn’t too hot or cold. Invest in comfortable, high-quality bedding and limit distractions in the room like toys, TVs, etc. Creating the optimal sleep environment helps your little one fall asleep faster and stay asleep throughout the night. The ideal temperature for sleep is around 18 degrees Celsius. If a child’s room is too bright, loud, or uncomfortable, it negatively impacts sleep quality.
Encouraging Self-Soothing Skills
Helping your child learn to self-soothe or fall back asleep on their own when they briefly wake up at night, is one of the greatest gifts you can give them. When children rely too heavily on parental assistance to get to sleep, they never develop critical self-soothing techniques. Start teaching independent sleep skills as early as possible, even with infants. You can do this with children you foster with Foster Care Associates, too. Of course, attend promptly to true night wakings involving hunger, pain, sickness, or fear. But resist immediately jumping in for ordinary night stirrings. Your child may fuss briefly before putting themselves back to sleep. Allowing your child to fuss for 5-10 minutes gives them the chance to try and settle themselves.
Reinforcing Positive Sleep Behaviours
Notice and praise any steps your child takes in the right direction related to sleep. Compliment them when they independently get back to sleep at night without calling for you. Express how proud you are when they collaborate on sticking to their routine. Provide small rewards like stickers on a sleep chart for peaceful nights. Reinforcing and encouraging desired sleep behaviours motivates your child to repeat those actions. Creating a sense of self-efficacy is a proven method for establishing long-term habits that serve children well into adulthood.
Being a positive, patient role model focused on creating consistency goes a long way in establishing healthy sleep habits that benefit the whole family. Your investment pays off exponentially in better moods, behaviours, and wellness for years to come. Sleep-deprived children face greater struggles academically, emotionally, and behaviourally. Prioritising slumber leads to better days.
