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How to Help Kids Sleep at Night
By Martha Sanders
Kids love routine. Having a bedtime routine gives your children an expectation of what comes next and gets kids ready for bed so they will drift off to sleep easier. It may not solve all your bedtime problems, but it will go a long way to setting the right foundation for sleep.
Different families may have differing ideas on how to get kids sleep at night, but this is what works for most.
The first thing you must do is to be sure your children are really sleepy at their bedtime. If you have chosen the right time for their bedtime, they should be tired by bedtime. Be sure to take naps into consideration when calculating how early or late your kids will be going to bed.
Involve your kids in physically active play a couple of hours before bedtime. In warm, light summer months, it can be outdoors on a playground. Winter or rainy days make this a little more difficult, but there are still some things you can do.
A small indoor trampoline is great for children. Hide and seek, tag and chase, wrestling
and tussling, dancing and free-
The next step, maybe an hour before bedtime, is to have a bedtime snack. Nothing too heavy, just a little food to help kids tide themselves over to morning and breakfast.
A cheese stick or a small glass of milk and a slice of bread or a handful of crackers is all it takes. Having a light snack in their stomach before bedtime makes kids more comfortable and sleep soundly.
The next best thing you can do to help kids sleep at night is a bath. While a bath in warm water are soothing to some children, others may turn bath time into more rowdy time. In this case, you might want to schedule bath time before snack time.
The last and most important aspect in a bedtime routine is quiet time just before bed. It should not be a time for television, which can be too stimulating for a child. If you must have television in the evening, be sure to avoid violence or other exciting elements in the program.
I suggest you spend about 15 minutes of quiet time reading a book to your kids. Some
kids may need an hour's worth of quiet time to be ready for sleep. What works for
me is, a younger sibling can have some quiet time with one parent first and be put
to bed while older siblings play quietly in another room. Then, it's the next oldest
sibling's turn. In that way, each kid gets some one-
With these tips in mind, you can help kids establish a bedtime routine and get a good night's sleep.
Without the right mattress, sleeping could be a problem for your kids. How to pick kids mattresses that are safe and comfortable for growing children.
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Learn techniques on how you can keep kids from chewing nails for good. Apply to adults as well.
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Know why personal hygiene is important to kids' health and learn how you can educate kids on hygiene.
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