Struggling with your child’s sleep? Discover simple bedtime routines, healthy habits, and practical tips that helped improve sleep and create more peaceful nights for the whole family.
For so many nights, this routine was victim to so many arguments. My child took forever to fall asleep, kept waking up all night, and was always in a bad mood the next day. We as parents, were also tired by then. We tried so many things hoping something would work.
Initially, we assumed it was a phase. The belief was that everything would subside soon. However, days eventually turned into weeks which turned into months and the insomnia seemed to be even worse. Sometimes it was more than once that there was a need to refill water in a glass because their bed was needed however it is so multifunctional. They also consumed a lot of milk most nights.
Every suggestion every hour of everyday regardless how crazed they seemed were tried to be done. A total effort by several people tries even on different days where substances tried to course through their blood to keep them in their deepest slumber and other remedies. Several of the measures worked just fine on two specific days but these were not successful at effecting a permanent change in behavior.
And then it hit us. The problem was not in changes to try outable solutions but on minimizing the number of stressors in the child’s environment every single night.
The first and fairly easy move made was fixing a daily bedtime. Before that, sleeptime depended on the requirements of the day. It could come early sometimes and sometimes very late. Our life started looking better when we decided to have a regular bedtime for our child. The body appreciates regular circadian changes that mainly take place when we sleep.
After that, we cut the time the child spends in front of the screen before going to bed. Tablet, phone and TV had silently crept into our lifestyle without even realizing it. The initiative was put up at shutting down the screens an least an hour before going to bed. Towards, the end, that was time spent enjoying books, making drawings or admiring the blissful silence at home talking with other family members.
Additionally, there was a series of activities to do before one goes to bed. These activities pretty much included everything one would do in preparation for sleep when there was a programme airing in time for an eye patch to fall off. It was just nothing complicated. Only these specific operations performed in a specific manner. With events one unit at a time along the whole line, the factor of sleep was set in the more creative bedtime routine.
It was the quiet, peaceful atmosphere in the room that worked wonders. Being devoid of dingy and unpleasant factors, such as noise and dust, seemed to be of the essence. For the comfort of the evening, the lighting in the room would also be made milder.
There was also an advancement that was unknowingly reached by the end of the period, this occurred with increased physical activity during the day. More time outdoors, playing and indulging in active tasks, was found to be more effective in reducing restlessness. Tucking in towards sleep time, our child seemed to appreciate rest more.
We also observed a change from what the child was consuming late in the night. Heavy dinner, sweet treats and caffeinated drinks prior to sleeping would make our child hyperactive and would have a problem with getting to sleep. A relaxed pattern in the late hours seemed to promote continuous sleep.
Above all, we learnt the virtue of endurance. One does not make any substantial progress in his/her sleep patterns within a day. There were still hard nights, but we were real and gave up. With time, bedtime started becoming less dreadful. Wakes in the night became unnecessary. Every time day broke, joy was in the air.
This period in history is very different and challenging in terms of sleep. Our daughter easily falls asleep, wakes up happier the next day unlike before. We, as parents, also sleep longer hours.
If you find yourself fighting for your child to sleep through the night, know that agents have not yet been introduced fully realizes it. Persistence, there is no magic application, no single solution, and it does not even have to be a high cost nap. Orderly activities, a relaxed atmosphere, a health-conscious routine, and having a support system, can work in ways that might surprise you.
Although it wasn’t clear at first, it was the alteration of these small things within the family that eventually helped to end the sleepless nights.
