On the sleep of children, parents and experts question themselves often finding conflicting and contradictory answers. Latvian yes or no? If the child wakes up at night, should he let it cry or console him? Does having a transitional object really help? And if the transitional object was mom and dad? What to do if the older child has nightmares or is afraid of the dark?
These are just some of the questions that parents of children with sleeping difficulties ask themselves every day, often without finding an answer. We try to understand something and try to find a way to help the child sleep well.
Help the child sleep well: the sleep routine
When it comes to helping the child sleep well, the sleep routine is often mentioned. On the fact that a ritual helps to slip into the arms of Morpheus I think we all agree, but to want to be practical: at what age can a sleep routine be established ?
Before the six months, the company turns out to be quite difficult; infants, in fact, tend to take naps of variable duration, distributed over 24 hours, mostly in an irregular manner. After that age, when they no longer feel the need to eat at night, they often start to sleep all night long, but this is not always the case. However, we can say that after 6 months we can start to make some serious attempts to establish a sleep routine and help the baby sleep well.
It is, however, around three years that the sleep routine becomes fundamental for the child's well-being and growth, according to several clinical studies and many experts in the field.
Let's take a routine example of sleep? Baby bath, dinner, half an hour of play with mom and dad or reading a fairy tale, pajamas, dental hygiene, good night kiss to mom and dad and, finally, in bed with the Teddy bear. It is just an example, everyone then, of course, can establish their own personal sleep routine to help the child sleep well.
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3 tips to make children sleep well
Every child is a universe of its own. The following are therefore general advice, often dictated by common sense and by a welcoming parenting goddess .
1. Create a comfortable and quiet environment.
Children should always sleep, since they are very small, in dim light or in the dark and in a quiet environment, so no TV on or any other background noise. Room temperature is also important; it must not be cold, but not too hot.
For some children, it may be useful to have an object that accompanies them in sleep, the so-called transitional object ; it can be a bear, a doll or even a soft cover. Some children do not fall asleep without mom or dad; to reassure them it may be useful to read to them a fairy tale or to remain beside them in silence, until they slip into the arms of Morpheus.
The moment of sleep must be pleasant, not a tragedy, if the child needs us, why not be there?
2. Overcome the fear of the dark
It's normal; the fear of darkness is ancestral because darkness makes it vulnerable. In this case it is useful to keep a night light .
Some evenings children may be more frightened than others, because they have had a difficult day, or suffered a reproach, and could therefore feel more agitated and have nightmares . If the child wakes up in a nightmare it is very important to reassure him and help him to rationalize, that is to understand that the image or situation seen in a dream is not real and cannot hurt him in any way. Being told about bad dreams helps them to exorcise.
3. What if the child suffers from pavor nocturnus ?
If in the middle of the night the child becomes agitated and screams, continuing to sleep soundly, it is an attack of pavor nocturnus, a condition that mainly affects children in preschool age, but which can also last up to adolescence. In this case, during the attack of pavor nocturnus it is better not to touch the baby, but maybe talk to him gently until he is calm.
Instead, to prevent this from happening, the period between dinner and bedtime must be managed as calmly as possible; it would therefore be preferable to postpone any discussions and reproaches the following day and avoid video games, games that are too animated and the viewing of images that are not very reassuring on TV (including news programs ).
