How to put your baby to sleep without unnecessary problems and tantrums

It is unlikely there are parents who would never experience the problem of sleep in children. First, a newborn baby adapts to life outside the mother's body and forms its own regime. Then colic occurs, teeth are cut, complementary foods are introduced and the baby, unwittingly, increasingly does not let parents sleep.

A even later, the real "wars" begin; with a  baby who refuses to go to bed at all. A child who was playing merrily five minutes ago suddenly throws a real tantrum when he hears “Time to sleep” from mom or dad. And no blandishments and promises help.

Is can handle this situation and how to put the child to sleep so to bring it to screams and tears?

• Why the baby is naughty: 5 & nbsp; main reasons for "evening" hysterics
• How to put your baby to sleep: tips for parents

Why the baby is naughty: 5 & nbsp; main reasons for "evening" tantrum

Specialists in the field of child psychology say that the first thing to do is to eliminate the reasons why the child refuses to sleep. 
Such unfavorable factors are most often:

• Overfatigue.Children of different ages have different needs for sleep. Often, parents believe that if you reduce the amount of daytime sleep, then the nighttime rest will be more peaceful. But it should be remembered that the child nervous system has enormous loads and it necessarily needs rest. Otherwise, instead of drowsiness, the baby will feel overexcited, which will eventually lead to hysterics or cause difficulty falling asleep. Active games before bedtime can produce the same effect.

• Lack of daily routine. If the child is used to going to bed at different times — his body cannot tune in to sleep at certain hours. As a result, if for several days in a row you try to put a child who does not want to sleep in a  bed, the baby develops persistent resistance and he can show character.

• Feeling unwell. This is most relevant for children in the first year of life, in whose digestive system has not yet fully matured and reacts with colic to the most  innocent» irritants. This may be the introduction of complementary foods, a change in the milk formula and other circumstances. Another reason — teething. Experiencing pain, the baby may be capricious, and  discomfort in the stomach or in the gums prevent him from falling asleep.

• Stress. During the period when the child starts attending kindergarten or school, his sleep can be disturbed by stress. In most cases, children begin to sleep poorly (sleep is superficial, the child often wakes up). But  sometimes the baby may refuse to go to bed at all, feeling anxious about tomorrow and attending kindergarten or school.

Read also: How to mentally prepare your child for school: 10 tips for parents

• Children's fears. The list of things that children are afraid of includes a huge number of events and situations. It can be the fear of being alone in the dark, the fear of a monster under the bed, and much more. In this case, tears and tantrums before going to bed are permanent and often require the help of a child psychologist.

 

But still the parents have several "tools" to deal with the problem on their own.

Read also: Children's psychosomatics: debunking 4 popular myths

How to put your baby to sleep: tips for parents

The tips below will help you get your little one into a calm, relaxed state and reinforce the habit of going to bed without tantrums, but with pleasure.

• When shaping your baby's daily routine, do it gradually. Decrease or increase your evening wake time by 10-15 minutes each day. Depending on how far behind you the schedule” or ahead of him, in a few days the time for putting the child to bed will correspond to the regimen. And the baby himself will not even notice that some changes have occurred.

• Refuse active games and heavy meals 2-3 hours before sleep.If your child wants to play —    engage in jigsaw puzzles, building blocks, or drawing. And 1-1.5 hours before sleep, give your child a light dinner.

• Come up with the child a special ritual that will "prohibit" the appearance of monsters and  night terrors. It can be a fairy tale written by you together, or a song sung together that drives away all bad things and lures good dreams. But the keyword— together. The child should feel involved in this activity.

• Excitable children or a child who is too excited about some events, it is recommended to give a relaxing massage before bedtime, prepare a warm bath for the baby, and immediately before bedtime offer some warm milk with honey (unless, of course , the child loves such a drink and he he is not allergic to honey).

These simple rules will help to make the nursery smooth in the evenings calmer. And the child himself will quickly understand that sleep — this is not compulsory and boring duty, but pleasant rest and magic dreams.

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