Sleep Baby Sleep
Mommy B from North Carolina asks: How can I get my 2.5 year old to sleep? While sleep is a natural part of our daily rhythms, some children (and even adults) can have difficulty: (a) Getting to sleep (b) Falling back to sleep or (c) Staying asleep.
Sleep Baby Sleep by thefamilycoach
From a developmental-behavioral perspective sleep is about internal rhythms and self-soothing strategies. Getting to sleep involves being able to read and listen to environmental cues that tell the brain to rest.
Step 1: Establish clear rhythms and routines for your child. Children develop internal rhythms that tell their bodies to wake and sleep. Establish a sleeping routine. Order rather than time is key. Children have a need for mastery. If your child eats, bathes, reads with you and then gets into bed for sleep that is the beginning of a happy sleep routine. Do the same routine in the same order each night. If you travel or your child sleeps elsewhere, tell your family or partner the child’s routine.
Step 2: Practice good timing. A 1-3 year old will sleep 12-14 hrs every 24 hours. If your child naps, generally she will not sleep again for about six hours, on average. So if nap-time is 1:00-2:00 pm she will likely be ready to sleep again at 8:00 pm. One challenge I often see is nap-time that ends too close to bedtime. So consider your child’s sleep timing.
Step 3: Provide the opportunity for quality sleep. The environment signals to the brain…sleep. Getting night-shades or room-darkening shades so that your child can fall asleep may help. A sound machine or classical music is also a useful tool. Reading rather than TV has been found to assist in getting to sleep.
Step 4: Help your child learn to get back to sleep. Children generally arouse every 60-90 minutes, thus needing to have the self-soothing skills to get back to sleep. Having a love object in the bed that your child can hold for soothing may be key. If your child calls to you, assuming she is safe, wait a few minutes to see if she can soothe herself back to sleep.
Step 5: Celebrate Success. Preschoolers love recognition, it helps them feel cherished and important. A sticker chart over the bed that recognizes falling asleep and staying in one’s bed can be relished by children. Making a crown and celebrating your “sleep princess” in the morning at breakfast has also been known to be sweet and effective.
Elizabeth Pantley’s No-cry sleep solution may help as well.
Always talk with your pediatrician about the specific needs of your child, mom’s know best, but a physician’s viewpoint is good practice.
Happy sleep to you.
Sleep Baby Sleep by thefamilycoach
From a developmental-behavioral perspective sleep is about internal rhythms and self-soothing strategies. Getting to sleep involves being able to read and listen to environmental cues that tell the brain to rest.
Step 1: Establish clear rhythms and routines for your child. Children develop internal rhythms that tell their bodies to wake and sleep. Establish a sleeping routine. Order rather than time is key. Children have a need for mastery. If your child eats, bathes, reads with you and then gets into bed for sleep that is the beginning of a happy sleep routine. Do the same routine in the same order each night. If you travel or your child sleeps elsewhere, tell your family or partner the child’s routine.
Step 2: Practice good timing. A 1-3 year old will sleep 12-14 hrs every 24 hours. If your child naps, generally she will not sleep again for about six hours, on average. So if nap-time is 1:00-2:00 pm she will likely be ready to sleep again at 8:00 pm. One challenge I often see is nap-time that ends too close to bedtime. So consider your child’s sleep timing.
Step 3: Provide the opportunity for quality sleep. The environment signals to the brain…sleep. Getting night-shades or room-darkening shades so that your child can fall asleep may help. A sound machine or classical music is also a useful tool. Reading rather than TV has been found to assist in getting to sleep.
Step 4: Help your child learn to get back to sleep. Children generally arouse every 60-90 minutes, thus needing to have the self-soothing skills to get back to sleep. Having a love object in the bed that your child can hold for soothing may be key. If your child calls to you, assuming she is safe, wait a few minutes to see if she can soothe herself back to sleep.
Step 5: Celebrate Success. Preschoolers love recognition, it helps them feel cherished and important. A sticker chart over the bed that recognizes falling asleep and staying in one’s bed can be relished by children. Making a crown and celebrating your “sleep princess” in the morning at breakfast has also been known to be sweet and effective.
Elizabeth Pantley’s No-cry sleep solution may help as well.
Always talk with your pediatrician about the specific needs of your child, mom’s know best, but a physician’s viewpoint is good practice.
Happy sleep to you.
Tags: mommyb, parenting, preschoolers, sleep, tfcm, tmfc, toddlers
Comment
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Comment by Fiona Ryan on November 14, 2009 at 1:09am -
I have been very lucky as my daughter has slept through the night since 8 weeks old and is now nearly 3. However, we did use a cd of white noise to help if she was ever unsettled. The cd is similar to the noises she heard in the womb and really worked to settle her.
Also for little ones, dream feeding works really well and is great for babies that have colic as if they feed whilst asleep or semi awake they dont gulp any air, so that works really well. It's also good for sleep training, as they dont wake for food, therefore that habit is broken.
I hope all of you that have sleepless little ones get some sleep soon xxxx
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Comment by Deirdre Smith on November 13, 2009 at 12:05pm - Great tips! My little guy has become a good sleeper after a rough first year. I hope I don't need your tips,but they are good ones.
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Comment by Lynne Kenney on November 12, 2009 at 7:55pm - Hey, I understand I still rub my 9 yr olds back and guess what, I love it and I am not gonna stop:). Thanks for all the fun interaction today. Lynne
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Comment by Mommy B on November 12, 2009 at 3:02pm
- Wow thanks for the help, little one is going to sleep in good timing, we have a humidifier running with black out curtains and also a sticker chart if she stays in her bed. I agree that self soothing is something I've deprived her of because I rocked her when she was little and for nap we do that as well. I'm going to continue using the above tips and hopefully we'll have success. I appreciate your advice so much!!
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