When it comes to children getting sufficient sleep, here at Dr. Patricia MD we’re always promoting activities such as visualization and reading books before bedtime. But it’s always beneficial to look at the entire package when it comes to your child and sleep.
Encourage your child to only use their bed for sleep—not doing homework, playing, watching TV, etc. By associating their bed only as a sanctuary for rest and sleep, they can avoid the confusion of doing other livelier activities. It can teach their brain to associate the bed with sleep, making it easier for children to fall asleep. These practices also teach good sleep hygiene that they can carry on with them through adulthood. Visualization exercises are amazing also.
Have a routine. Children thrive on routines, especially younger children. Your bedtime routine could be having a bath, brushing teeth, reading a nice story, prayer, etc. Whatever your bedtime routine is for your family, incorporate it and give children adequate time to transition from playtime to bedtime routines. Structure times so that they know that they are getting a bath in 30 minutes, story time in one hour, etc. Routines can teach their brains to begin to wind down for the day and get ready for a good night’s sleep.
So those are a couple of ideas to help your child get to sleep. Take this week to structure bedtime for your children and teach them good practices that help them get the rest that they need. Let me know if you have any questions or comments below!