Ok so will do a few tips for older (school-age) children today: - they are old enough to understand why sleep is important, so look at the activities and tips on the sleepforkids.org website to help engage them with the process - if they struggle to settle, make sure they have plenty of wind-down time before bed (i.e. no screen time for 60-90 minutes before bed, plenty of quiet activities) and begin to dim the lights around an hour for bed to get the melatonin levels up - a sleep-inducing pre-bath snack like oatcakes, milk or bananas can also help your child settle more easily - encourage them to learn breathing/relaxation techniques to help them switch off an active brain - for those children that still get up during the night, be really clear about the rules, with a reward chart for good behaviour, but also a consequence that will resonate for non-compliance, so that your child learns that bedtime is bedtime and that you do not expect them to come out of their room until the morning (get a sleep clock so there is no question as to what you mean by morning time) - if your child does come out during the night, do not get into any lengthy conversations, just remind them of the rule, send them back to bed and follow through on your consequence to help them understand the new regime As with all things, these techniques are only as effective as you are consistent, so be prepared for it to take a little time...
Posted on: Wed, 22 Jan 2014 13:20:04 +0000
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