How Do I Get My Child To Sleep?

"How do I get my child to sleep at night?"

I believe this is a very popular question among many parents. I've had my share of struggling with this problem.

WHAT MOST MOMS WILL SAY
Well, if you pose this question to a group of mothers in a forum or group discussion or wherever, you will very likely here this answer: SET A ROUTINE!

Many mothers are doing this and I guess it works coz' they don't have much problems getting their kids to bed. An example of a routine would be a nice bath, changing into cozy pyjamas, brushing teeth, reading books with mom or dad, lights out. It is also important not to stimulate them before bedtime. That means turning off the tv, radio and computer. No rough play or any kind of active play. All activities have to help your children wind down.

MAMAS EXTRA PARENTING TIPS

• A few years ago, I was having such a tough time getting my kids to fall asleep, I decided to try something new instead of shouting and threatening. I used RELAXATION TECHNIQUES. You can read about what I did in this blog post: How To Get Your Kids To Sleep
• I found with my kids that if I could get them to lay still, their mind would shut down and they would fall asleep. The trick is to get them to lay still. I remember playing this game with them where I would have us all pretend we were hiding from the T-Rex. You have to be very quiet and not move or the T-Rex will find you and eat you. That game worked until the kids figured out what I was doing. Sometimes, it takes a bit of creativity to come up with something that works.
• Music helps. Make sure you play music that has a hypnotic effect. Then maybe you can insert in suggestions too like "you won't jump on the couch anymore" or "you will eat your vegetables". Just kidding. But yeah, there is music that can bring down the brain waves. Look for Baroque music. That is actually good for studying too.
• Just accept that some kids are naturally born night owls. My daughter is one of them. She's 10 years old this year. She tries and tries to sleep but if she can't, she just can't, no matter what. For so many years we've struggled to get her to sleep early, she just can't. Nowadays, she'll just read her books until she feels sleepy. It is not unusual for me to see her sharpening her color pencils at 10pm. I know she takes after me. I remember when I was younger, my dad would chase me off to bed early so I would be properly rested for my golf tournament the next morning. But I would lay on my bed tossing and turning for more than an hour. No matter how hard I tried, I just couldn't sleep. So sometimes, you just can't force your kids to sleep.
• Give them what they need. My 4 y.o. son needs me to rub his stomach. My 8 y.o. son wants me to spend some time with him on the bed before he sleeps. Sometimes he wants me to scratch his back. My 2 y.o. girl will ask for the boobs but I'm trying to stop that (weaning is hard). As substitute, she has picked up her brothers preference for stomach rubbing. It is better to sacrifice 10 minutes doing stuff to put them to bed than fighting for 2 hours getting them to sleep independently. One day they will grow up and your "services" will not be required anymore.

So, what do you do to get your kids to bed?

This affiliate link above will take you to:
- 60min. Instant Baby Sleeo (TM) sound track .MP3
- Implementation guide e-book (Implementation guide.PDF)
- 11 Steps to sleep success (CHECKLIST.PDF)