4 Ways To Make Your Child’s Bedtime Routine Easier and Healthier

Every mother knows that the longer the bedtime routine lasts, the harder it will be to convince your little one to sleep.

A healthy bedtime is more than beneficial for a child’s development. Why does it matter?

A bedtime routine is the key factor in the promotion of sleep health, and also development in the early stages. Moreover, a healthy sleep routine contributes to a large number of positive outcomes beyond improved sleep, emotional and behavioural regulation, language development, literacy, and parent-child attachment.

As a parent, you know very well how an improper bedtime routine may affect both your child’s development and mood. When children don’t get enough sleep, they often become cranky which makes it harder for them to control their emotions.

Often, we see kids that may be hyper or irritable which is no fun for anyone in the family, especially during tough weeks. Here is where regular bedtime rituals and a healthy schedule may be the answer, helping kids get enough sleep and function at a normal level.

1. Make It a Priority

Many parents out there overlook the importance of a steady bedtime routine and how this may affect their children’s development and behaviour “” leaving them wondering how their children have sudden behavioural changes, get cranky, needy and impatient.

To get your child more on-board with following a bedtime routine, set regular bed and wake up times for the entire family “” even on the weekends. As soon your child will see you involved in this routine it will be much easier for everyone.

Promoting a healthy bedtime routine for both your child and the rest of the family may be a reasonable and effective method to promote early childhood development.

2. Don’t Underestimate Routine

Not only us, but children are also known to enjoy and appreciate routine. More studies have shown that a healthy bedtime routine can work wonders on children who are prone to sleeping troubles. No matter what you choose to do before bed, from brushing teeth, storytelling, listening to a favourite playlist, or watching a popular cartoon with mum, all these actions can help your children associate the bedroom with a sense of comfort, good feelings, control, and security.

Of course, routines and schedules may vary from family to family, but as long as you’ve established a certain routine everything should run smoothly. For instance, a normal routine must include things like washing up, brushing teeth, or having a snack before bed, no matter what you choose to do, make sure this routine doesn’t last more than 30 minutes.

3. Friendly Sleep Environment

A child’s room décor is more important than you think. In case your little one has sleeping troubles because of the bad mattress or the lack of good ventilation, don’t wait until it gets worse.

Research what you can do, where you can find a high-quality mattress for your child, or where you can start to improve ventilation in your child’s room.

Sleeping environment is crucial for a child’s development, so make sure you keep it dark, quiet and cosy. In case he doesn’t tolerate darkness, you can either leave the hall light on or you can choose to invest in night lights that will offer your child a sense of comfort and induce sleep. Additionally, a tolerable sleeping environment is very much characterised by temperature, so make sure you maintain a cool (but not cold) temperature in your children’s room.

4. Consider Mindfulness for Children

Anxiety and stress are common problems that may affect your children’s sleep quality. Here’s where mindfulness for children plays an important role. Children of all ages can benefit from bringing a kinder and accepting attitude to the present moment.

Mindfulness usually offers children an easy relief from whatever difficulties they may encounter in life, and make them appreciate the beauty of the present moment. This extraordinary technique has helped both parents and children to create valuable connections, find solutions to difficult misunderstandings and rediscover calmness.

When your children have trouble sleeping, include 10 minutes of mindfulness in your family’s bedtime routine””it can work wonders for everyone.