Unison Parenting Blog: How to Create Better Sleep for Your Child

Many parents know the basics of helping their child get to sleep, as they are similar to adult recommendations:

·       Keep consistent bedtimes and wake times.

·       Maintain consistent bedtime routines.

·       Don’t spend time on or in the bed except for sleeping.

·       Cool the temperature in the room.

·       Don’t expose your child’s eyes to the blue light of screens for two hours before bed.

·       No caffeine after dinner.

But Seattle Children’s Hospital recommends a few counterintuitive ideas that could help them (and help adults sleep better as well).

First, let your child get out of bed if they are having a hard time sleeping. Allow them a low stimulation activity such as reading before returning to bed later. The idea is to prevent the brain from associating the bed with sleeplessness. For every 20 to 30 minutes of sleeplessness, allow for 20 minutes out of bed before trying again.

I certainly didn’t know this as a parent when I had little ones. I wanted them to stay in bed and keep trying to sleep. As I age, I can see the wisdom of trying something different.

Another idea is to temporarily adjust sleep time to match their drowsiness. If your child is never drowsy at the planned bedtime, try a temporary delay by 30-minute increments until your child appears sleep. Then they can experience falling asleep more quickly once they get into bed. Follow up by gradually advancing bedtime each evening until the desired bedtime is reached.

Parents can get into a habit of seeing every variance as rebellion. On the other hand, parents can be too permissive about bedtime routines. The aim of these methods is to teach your child to go to sleep in a pattern that will help them rest well throughout their lives. If they have issues preventing them from immediately following this pattern, you are responding by training them gradually to adopt the pattern.