Secret #4:
An Earlier Bedtime?
If you look at your child before bedtime, say a half hour to an hour before bedtime, do you think he or she could go to sleep at that time? If the answer is yes, you should probably consider an earlier bedtime.
I know that many parents keep their children up later out of a desire to spend time with them when they get home from work. While this time is important, your child’s sleep is even more important.
Unlike adults, when kids get overtired, they don’t yawn — they get active and fussy. The overtired state triggers hormones like adrenaline, and these make it harder to get to sleep, even when very tired. It’s a vicious cycle.
In fact, studies have shown that keeping your child up at night can also result in them getting up too EARLY. While this may not make logical sense, it makes perfect sense in terms of sleep logic.
So if your child is getting up too early, or if you think they might be able to go to sleep a little earlier, experiment with an earlier bedtime. If he or she needs more sleep, you’ll all benefit from the change.
Children who sleep more are more adaptable, have longer attention spans, are considered easier to manage by their parents, and are more likely to have high IQ’s. So if you need more motivation than just eliminating some fussiness to fix your child’s sleep problems now, I hope this is it.
Secret #5:
Transitional Objects
This is the generic term for a favorite blanket, stuffed animal, or other comforting object. Transitional objects are commonly introduced after the child is six months of age, and they may help comfort your child while he or she goes to sleep or on waking in the middle of the night.
The reason these are more important after six months of age is that they are more a mental than physical comfort. Before three to six months, your baby is mostly interested in meeting physical needs.
Transitional objects can be especially useful in dealing with separation anxiety. This fear of being apart from people, especially from Mum and Dad, is one of the more important challenges that parents face when helping their child learn to sleep on their own.
A transitional object can provide some continuity in the face of a difficult and changing world. An infant or toddler may take a great deal of comfort from this consistency–even to the point where it becomes difficult to fall asleep without it.
Many experts suggest that you let your child pick out their own transitional object. It should be crib-safe, but it could be almost anything. A blanket, a stuffed animal, or even Mom’s shirt (which a baby may like because it smells like Mom) can work.
When introducing a transitional object, you should have it be part of your cuddling time and story time in your bedtime routine. You should make sure to place it with your child in her crib in a location where he or she can see it. If it’s the right object, it won’t take too much work to get them to attach to it.
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