The Sleep Lady Shares Her Secrets for Getting Kids to Sleep Through the Night

As all parents know, getting kids to get in bed and sleep through the night can be a major challenge.  In TheMotherhood today, moms asked questions, shared stories and got advice from the Sleep Lady, Kim West, author of “The Sleep Lady’s Good Night, Sleep Tight.”  Read the highlights from this insightful Talk for some great ideas for making bedtime easier!

Setting a Sleep Routine: Turn off the screens an hour before bed. Have quiet time and a relaxing ritual in dim lights, soothing atmosphere, etc. For adults, don’t bring your smartphone into your bedroom or read work materials at night. Most of all, get your bedtime window right: For adults, usually between 10-11 p.m., and for most children under six years old, 7-8 p.m.

When Crying It Out Isn’t an Option: Focus on “filling the sleep tank” during the day (for example, with great naps), figure out when your baby’s bedtime window is, and put him/her down awake at bedtime. Stay and pat, pick up to calm, and soothe until your baby falls asleep.  This will teach your child how to sleep alone early on, rather than co-sleeping, which is a tough habit to break later.

Weaning Kids Off of Co-sleeping: Kim’s book outlines how to have a family meeting to set up the new rules or “sleep manners.”  Kids need to learn the skill of putting themselves to sleep without anyone lying with them. Look for a method called “The Sleep Lady Shuffle” in Kim’s book. It will take effort and consistency on your part!

Encouraging Kids to Put Themselves to Sleep: Have a regular routine. Make a poster with drawings of bedtime steps to show your child, and explain rules and expectations for sleep.  You can put a tall gate in front of the bedroom door and explain that the gate can come down when they remember all their sleep manners and stay in their bed all night long until a wakeup light or music comes on.

Seizing the Day (or Night): The longer you wait to change a habit, the harder it is, so get started right away. If you want to co-sleep for the longer term, then do it safely and at least have your children nap in their cribs.  Then transitioning to independent sleep later will be easier.

Creating a Nap Pallet: If your kids are already accustomed to co-sleeping, make a “pallet space” in your bedroom – for example, using a sleeping bag with a warm fuzzy blanket on top – and let your kids “decorate” the area as they prefer with blankies and stuffed animals.  It will help them make a gradual transition from sleeping with you in your bed, to sleeping near you, and eventually sleeping in their own beds.

Getting Two Kids to Sleep: You don’t want to end up catering to one child to avoid them waking the other in the night. Start by putting your kids to bed at different times, so you can completely focus on each one.  If the kids cry or fuss at night, divide and conquer, with one parent soothing each child.  If you are a single parent, go to one child and then the other.  If they are in the same room, you can sit in the room until they are asleep.

Soothing Your Kids to Sleep: An Epsom salt warm bath before bed can help kids of all ages – the magnesium relaxes them.  Another relaxant is Essential Oil of Lavender. Put a drop on your fingertip and dab the middle of your child’s forehead, then massage their backs and feet with a lavender oil/olive oil combo.

Dealing with Bedwetting: If your child wets the bed and crawls into your bed just because it’s a dry place to sleep, try making his or her bed using layers of sheets with a mattress protector in between. That way, your child can pull of the wet layer and get right back in. If the problem recurs, make sure your child does not have sleep apnea, which can also cause bedwetting.

Chasing Away Nightmares: Try using “monster spray” to eliminate your child’s fears of darkness and bedtime.  Fill a spray bottle with water and lemon juice (or anything) and spray it in every corner, under the bed, etc.  You can even let the little ones take it and spray wherever they think necessary to help them calm down.

Handling the Time Change: Daylight Saving Time is approaching, and it can wreak havoc with kids’ sleep schedules.  The day before the night you change the clocks, make sure your child is well napped so that you can make bedtime a tiny bit later. This will work better if your child is already well rested. Don’t get your child up for the day until at least 6 a.m. the new time. The next day, adjust the naps so that you can make it to the new later bedtime.

Most Common Causes of Early Rising: If your kids are getting up and waking YOU up way too early in the morning, one of these could be the cause: Going to bed too late; nap deprivation; being awake too long between afternoon nap and bedtime; going to bed too drowsy.

A BIG thanks to Kim and all of our mom experts!!  The amazing mom bloggers who co-hosted this Talk are:

Crystal, Simply Being Mommy

Courtney, One Bored Mommy

Ellen, Love That Max

Grace, Formerly Gracie

Mary, Everyday Baby Steps

Niri, Mommy Niri

Pamela, The Dayton Time

Renae, Madame Deals

Stephanie, Montgomery County Moms

See the original Talk here: http://tmotherhood.wpengine.com/talk/show/id/62085