How to Help Kids of Any Age Get a Good Night’s Sleep – Tips to help your child (infant, toddler, pre-teen or teen) sleep through the night and become heavy sleepers.
Obviously I wanted my kids to be sound sleepers for health reasons. Selfishly, I needed them to sleep like logs for personal reasons. My son & daughter are only 2 years apart and I work from home so the challenge of having two infant sleepers was intense because Heaven knows I wasn’t getting much sleep.
My kids are (much) older now and continue to be deep sleepers largely because of the early habits we started at bedtime and naptime. I do feel these sleep tips will help children of any age sleep soundly regardless of when they start to practice these habits. FYI – My kids aren’t “naturally” deep sleepers, they’re both completely “Type A” personalities (like their Mom & Dad).
TIPS – How to Help Kids of Any Age Get a Good Night’s Sleep
HELPING INFANTS SLEEP HABITS (and Beyond Infants)
White Noise – This tip won’t surprise anyone but it’s the most important. White noise (or brown noise or pink noise) mimics the sound a baby hears in the womb. This solution is also incredibly affordable. Purchase a “sound spa” or “sound machine” anywhere. Homedics makes a nice cheap one or you can download the affordable Calm App. Our Sound Spas have been pretty indestructable through the years. Don’t be afraid to give it some volume, the womb isn’t a quiet place so infants are used to the noise. My kids have always been able to sleep though loud subdivision noise, thunderstorms, even fireworks as babies, as infants, as teens, even as young adults.
One important thing to remember when discussing sleep for newborns and infants is SIDS prevention. Many tips to avoid SIDS are also great healthy sleeping habits for baby including: firm surfaces for sleeping, dressing in light layers, etc.
MORE SIDS PREVENTION SAFE SLEEP STRATEGIES
HELPING TODDLERS SLEEP HABITS (and Beyond Toddlers)
As your infant grows to toddler age, they are exposed to more stimuli. The more they see and do the more they have to recover from before bedtime to get a good night’s sleep.
- Sound Spa! / White Noise (See Above)
- Limit screen time, media, video games, phones… all of it at least 1 hour before bed
- Keep a rigid time for bed routine (and try to keep meal times on track too)
- Draw the shades / close the blinds an hour before bed and encourage reading
- Practice deep breathing techniques with your child
- If a child can’t sleep, ask them to imitate what they feel it looks and sounds like when they see someone sleep or what they think they look like when they are sleeping
HELPING TEENS AND ADOLESCENT SLEEP HABITS
Ugh! More anxiety and social media mixed in with a complicated academic or sports schedule creates a lot of pressure. Here’s how to help stressed teens. Remember, these tips and habits can be started at any age so don’t worry about introducing a Sound Spa to a pre-teen or teen.
- Sounds Spa! or Calm App or Meditative Music – Dr Jeffrey Thompson has an incredible YouTube channel and there are plenty of other meditation YouTube channels to explore
- Don’t eat 3 hours before bedtime
- No caffeine / energy drinks 3 hours before bed
- No media 1 hour before bed
- Sensate Meditation system – This is a smart touch therapy device which uses sonic resonance waves directed to your autonomic nervous system paired with methodically composed soundscapes (via phone app). Just place the vibrating unit on your sternum before you plug in the soundscapes. I found this unit extremely effective, but it’s pricy! FULL REVIEW OF SENSATE
- A better mattress – Let’s face it, the mattresses parents choose for their kids beyond newborn stage are more for practicality than for comfort and are never tailored for their needs. It’s time to get rid of that small twin mattress and ask your teen or adolescent if they prefer a firm mattress (or a softer one) and mattress shop WITH your child to find one that suits them. Solving their sleep problems may be as easy getting a new foam mattress instead of the old spring mattress they’ve been sleeping on since they were 4 years old. It’s a little expensive, but we highly recommend PUFFY foam mattresses. FULL REVIEW OF PUFFY
OAKLAND COUNTY MOMS FAMILY HEALTH ARTICLES
I hope these How to Help Kids of Any Age Get a Good Night’s Sleep tips help.
