Tips to help kids get a good nights sleep
Recently I attended an event, where a sleep expert talked about how to help ourselves get a good nights sleep. We also learnt some handy tips to help kids sleep better at night too. Being a mum to eight I know all to week how a good nights sleep can mean the difference between happy family life or grumpy children and stressed out parents.
Here’s some top tips to help kids get a better nights sleep:
- Choice of evening snack – A glass of milk and a banana is the perfect to wind your kids down with an hour or so before bed. Other ‘sleepy’ foods include honey and oats.
- Keep the light out – Blackout blinds are a super investment but during summer months they can let in light round the edges. One good way of stopping light coming in at the sides of blackout blinds is to tape some paper, 4 or 5 inches thick around the edges of the glass on the windows. It won’t look great but it will do the trick.
- Keep the room cool – Kids bedrooms do not need to be kept hot, a cool room is key for a good nights sleep.
- Socks! Studies have shown that wearing socks in bed helps promote a good nights sleep.
- Consider investing in a wool duvet – Although pricier than traditional feather and down or hollow-fiber duvets, wool duvets keep you warm in winter and cooler in summer – meaning your child will only need one duvet all year round.
- Take 5 minutes to lie down in your kids bed in the evening and first thing in the morning – you may find that shadows appear to be scary and that that it leading to your child waking up frightened. What could be a slatted blind may appear to young eyes to be the shadow of a crocodile!
- Create a bedtime routine – Ideally around an hour long , this routine could involve a warm bath, book reading and ‘calm time’. Avoid TV and noisy games.
Do you have any tips for helping kids get a good nights sleep? If you do please share!
Ooo I am surprised at the socks thing. I always find they make me more uncomfortable, I might try that with H!
Apparently socks are meant to be great for sleep – even if you sleep naked ( the though of anyone parading around naked in socks make me chuckle it has to be said!)
I’m new to blogs and stumbled across this via twitter. I really struggle getting my two year old to sleep, in fact she’s still up now, even though we have tried for over an hour to get her to sleep. I like the socks idea and think I might ask my husband to give it ago!
Some new ones there we hadn’t thought of (ie lying in bed to see what looks like a croc!). We also found, when really cold, we put a hot eater bottle in bed under the mattress before he goes down, so he doesn’t get a “shock” from cold mattress. (we take it out before he goes down). Seems to help!
My 8 year old doesn’t go to sleep very easily, but he stays fast asleep once he’s gone. When he is really struggling we add a back massage into his bedtime routine with a lavender scented cream. He loves it and can often be found fast a sleep in minutes.
Socks!!! I am totally trying that one myself. I may also look into wool duvets (but I’m a bit scared to look as i imagine they will be very expensive. Thanks so much for some great tips. I’m featuring this this weekend on the Sunday Parenting Party (you can grab an “i was featured” button from my blog button page if you’d like one)
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