If you are one of the very few people whose baby drifts off into a peaceful slumber, not once waking until seven in the morning, then you are in the minority and are very lucky. Unfortunately many parents are faced with broken sleep night after night by a restless child who will not go back to sleep without some form of comfort or contact by a very tired and eventually frustrated mum or dad.
Not all babies and young children are the same, so methods of getting them happily off to sleep will vary for each child but there are a few tried and tested methods which work for most children. What parents must figure out is why their child wakes or just doesn't drift off to sleep in the first place by themselves.
One thing babies and children seem to like and respond well to is routine, set times and a sense of knowing when bedtime is coming, this will encourage sleep.
During the day play and eating times should be interactive with talking, rhymes and lively songs, bath time and sleep should be a more relaxed and quiet affair, some soothing music and a book read in a calm manner for older children will indicate to the child that now is the time to sleep and as sleep time is near, less interaction with the child and dim lights will relax them into a natural slumber.
Once they are asleep the trick is then to keep them sleeping. Making sure the room where the baby sleeps is not too hot or cold. Feeding at the right time before bed, not too early on in the evening as they could wake because they are hungry. Having a feeling of security with a favourite toy or blanket, all of these are good ideas and worth trying.
Start as you mean to go on, your baby could have picked up some bad sleeping habits inadvertently, some experts say rocking your baby to sleep is not a good idea, bed time preparation should not be drawn out for too long as it could instil a feeling in the baby of needing to be held for long periods before sleep and as much as you would love to do this each night you probably don't always have the time, especially if you have other children.
When babies are first born they sleep for short bursts, wake and feed and sleep again, this goes on through the night and should be expected, as the baby gets older it is vital for them and parents to get a good night sleep
Start a good sleep routine by drawing out each feed for longer sleeps in between, thus sleeping less in the days so as to encourage sleep at night.
Baby's need to learn a lot in a short space of time so sleep is important for healthy growth and learning.
Babies sleep a lot in the first few months and need about 14 to 15 hours, some new parents are concerned that their offspring are sleeping too much but it is normal at this age as from birth to five months there is the most rapid growth in babies and their bodies need to produce all the hormones to do this so they can develop at a normal rate so they really do need to sleep a lot at this stage.
Once a good sleep routine is established both parent and child will benefit.
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