It’s very depressing to have a baby at home who doesn’t sleep at night and can’t wake up in the morning. Because the baby hasn’t slept, we can’t “get off work” or “cleanse” yet. What should I do if my child doesn’t sleep at night and can’t wake up in the morning? Let’s talk today.
Option 1: Let nature take its course
If both the child and the parents have no special reason to get up early, they can actually maintain a schedule of going to bed late and getting up late together.
For children, as long as they get enough sleep every day, there is no problem in sleeping at night. For adults, the “bigger” problem is that they can’t take a break early, but if they can go to bed late and get up late, it’s not a big problem.
Some parents are worried that their children’s sleep after 9pm will affect the secretion of growth hormone, thereby affecting their growth. This worry is unnecessary. Because these claims circulated on the Internet are based on small preliminary studies on adults, they cannot be directly interpreted as the same for children, nor can they be further extended to mean that children’s height will be affected if they are not asleep after 9 p.m. Regarding the relationship between children’s sleep and height, what I want to do is to ensure that the child gets enough sleep.
Option 2: Change work and rest arrangements
Children sleeping too much during the day or taking naps too late during the day can lead to late bedtimes because they are not yet tired. Therefore, if you don’t want your child to go to bed late because he is not tired, you should review your child’s daytime schedule to see if there is anything that can be changed.
Generally speaking, children aged 1-3 should not nap for more than 2 hours during the day, and it is best to wake up before 3 o’clock. In addition, after the age of 2-3, some children may no longer need to take a nap. Going to bed early and getting up early will save both adults and children worry.
The big problem here is that the child doesn’t want to sleep when he goes to kindergarten, but the kindergarten has a unified arrangement that requires 2 hours of sleep. For children who really no longer need to take a nap, suddenly they have a long nap at noon, and they will be bouncing around until midnight.
For children who really no longer need to take a nap, so as not to break the previous regular schedule, you can try to communicate with the school and teachers in advance to ensure safety and not affect the rest of other children, and try to allow the children to play quietly. If conditions permit, you can also try to take your child home at noon and then send him back in the afternoon.
In fact, children who really don’t want to take a nap will suffer a lot if they can’t fall asleep while lying down. They are not allowed to make any sound or move freely for 2 hours. Some children even show small behaviors, such as starting to bite their nails. Therefore, it is still worth considering taking him home or communicating with the teacher.
Regarding the child who doesn’t want to sleep and the kindergarten arranges a nap, please see: “The child doesn’t want to take a nap, but the kindergarten requires a 2-hour nap?” You can do this》
option 3: Develop good sleeping habits
Some children don’t want to sleep at night because of subjective resistance. For example, they are tired and sleepy, but they feel that sleeping is too boring and they have not played enough and they have to continue playing, so they resist going to sleep.
In this case, it is necessary to emphasize the establishment of good sleep behavior habits in children. For children after one year old, whether it is sleeping, eating, playing, etc., we will have some basic rules to slowly guide the children to develop good living and behavioral habits. During this period, we need to have clear rules and bottom lines, as well as promptly affirm and encourage children’s good behaviors and habits. for example:
- Work and rest routine
Try to ensure that your child goes to bed and wakes up at about the same time every day, including weekends or holidays.
- Maintain a regular, consistent bedtime routine.
The bedtime program emphasizes a peaceful, quiet, and comfortable atmosphere. In addition to the common steps such as taking a bath and brushing teeth before bed, others include listening to music and reading bedtime stories. The activities in the bedtime program can be based on the preferences of children and parents. Decide.
Generally, 30 minutes is enough for the bedtime routine, but some children may ask to read two storybooks, or even three storybooks. If parents think it is okay, then reserve a little more for the bedtime routine. A longer time, such as 45 minutes, is also okay.
Of course, if the child’s demands during the bedtime procedure are unreasonable and cannot be met one by one, then we must have a clear bottom line and boundary. For example, I find that every time I read a story book or sing a song, my child wants another one after reading one, and another one after singing one. If there are signs of this, try to make an appointment in advance from the beginning to give your child a psychological buffer. For example, before reading, give the children a choice of 5 books, let the children pick 2 of them, and then clearly tell the children that we will read these two books at night, and after reading, we will go to bed. The process of making appointments in advance and letting children choose on their own may help reduce some of the bedtime “struggles.”
- Ensure a comfortable sleeping environment
For example, don’t be too cold or too hot, don’t be too noisy, etc., and don’t have too many toys in the bedroom. For older children, of course, don’t look at mobile phones, tablets, etc. before going to bed.
Some tips to try
In the process of slowly cultivating children’s sleeping habits, we can also try various tips, such as:
1) Let your child say good night to everything
Let the children say good night to picture books, toothbrushes, bears, construction trucks, etc. one by one. This process is actually to constantly remind the child that “all the things you like and are familiar with are sleeping, and you can sleep too.” Also, say good night to all these items, and if your child still wants them, tell them they are asleep.
2) Allow the child to play quietly by himself for a while
For older, communicative children, if we have tried everything and still refuse to sleep, and we ourselves are exhausted, we can try to relax, such as “negotiating” with the child, just make sure to continue to stay in bed and quietly ourselves You can also read some picture books or play with small toys on the bed.
Of course, this method depends on the child’s acceptance. If the child does not accept this method, there is no need to force it.
3) Try the “universal” sticker rewards
For example, clearly list each step in the bedtime routine, and reward the child with a sticker as long as he consciously (or can follow instructions) do a certain step well. In this way, children can gradually develop a regular and fixed bedtime routine and fall asleep relatively smoothly.
4) Find someone to change hands or let yourself be quiet
If you really can’t handle it yourself, feel exhausted or about to explode emotionally, then remember to find a family member to take over.
If no one can change hands, then try to settle the child, and then don’t have too much positive interaction or eye contact with the child; don’t show anger, irritability, anger, etc. to the child, just make yourself look nice Being expressionless lets the child know that we are exhausted and can’t continue.
Of course, if the child has real needs, we still need to respond promptly and proactively, comfort and meet the child’s reasonable requests or needs in a timely manner.
The above is what I am sharing today. I hope it can give you another reference. Please also share it with more parents in need to read and understand.
