Every parent goes through it to some extent, it’s that phase where the little ones, despite your best efforts just don’t want to sleep. In fact, they want to cry, or eat, or go to the toilet, or listen to another story, have a cuddle, or drink a glass of water, but they definitely DON’T want to sleep. A situation that after a few nights can drive you to distraction. Luckily, there are a few tactics that you can use to soothe your little ones off and enable them to get a good night’s rest, find out what they are by reading the post below.
Wind down
Just like adults, toddlers need to have some transitional time between doing something active and exciting and falling asleep. That is why it so important to have a bedtime routine and include things that you know will help them to get calm and sleepy.
One method favoured by many parents is to give them a warm bath. Often with lavender scented products, as this scent is meant to encourage relaxation and drowsiness. Another good idea is to have a period of time where digital devices are not used, as they are known to stimulate the brain. Not to mention the effect of all the games and cartoons they can watch online.
Finally, don’t forget that little ones love to have some time with their parents each night before they head off to the land of Nod. That is why it is vital that you make some time to read them a story and tuck them in. Something that makes a perfect end to the wind-down period and signals when that they should be going off to sleep.
Keep it dark
Next, light or the lack of it, in this case, is very important in getting your toddler off to sleep. That means utilising blackout curtains and blinds wherever possible is a great idea. Also, remember to cover all window and sources of light in the room, not just the main window including things like Velux windows and skylights too.
This can sometimes be a bit of a pain though as while there are a lot of attractive thick curtains or blind for normal style windows, one’s for skylights can be few and far between. Luckily, companies like S:CRAFT know how to make blinds for Velux windows that not only keep out the light but look gorgeous too. Something that means you don’t have to sacrifice your home decor just to ensure your little sleep thief isn’t up all night.
Soothe them off
Lastly, another helpful tactic can be to soothe your toddler off to sleep at night. To do this many parents use musical mobiles or white noise machines that help to comfort the little ones, as well as reinforce the fact that it is bedtime.
You can read more about the best white noise and musical soothers here. Although, you can get plenty of tracks online for free. Something that is perfect if you just want to try it out and see whether its effective in getting them to nod off, so you can get a decent kip every night.
This is a collaborative post.
