How to give your child a perfect night’s sleep

Tips to Help Children Develop Healthy Sleep Habits

Modern Lifestyle and Sleep Challenges in Children

Different distractions in today’s time can lead to children sometimes developing erratic sleep patterns - which is not healthy at their age.

For active kids, a good night's rest is the most important part of the routine. How do we ensure that?

Reduce Screen Time for Better Sleep

Here are a few measures you can take to ensure your child has a healthy night’s rest. Our lives have intertwined largely with electronics and we often fail to realise the adverse effects of these devices on our sleep pattern. Children are most susceptible to these disturbances. Hence, make sure your kids aren’t handling any gadgets or aren’t up watching the TV for too long. It’s recommended to switch off the TV at least two hours before bedtime.

Maintain a Consistent Sleep Routine

With unpredictable lifestyles being common in metros, it is imperative that you set a fixed time when your children should go to bed. It takes incredible patience but it will only work out if you figure out the sleep patterns of your child and accordingly set a
bedtime for them.

Having a sleep-inducing environment is also crucial. Make sure their bedroom has dim lights or a lamp shade, while you narrate a story or play lullabies to them. Another important factor, which we generally forget to acknowledge, is comfort.

Comfort comes from different places. Is the height of the bed appropriate? Are the curtains too dark? Is your bed linen comfortable? These are some of the questions you need answered while designing their bedroom.

Yes, bed linen needs to be comforting to the child’s sensitive skin. A coarse bed sheet that doesn’t let a body breathe will give a disturbed sleep and they will end up being restless and cranky in the morning. Make sure the pillows and bed mattress are neither too soft nor too hard to give just the right lumbar support for their growing bodies.

Change their comforters and blankets if the seasonal temperatures in your city change drastically. You can also clean up your ancestral dohar for winters- nothing better than the love and warmth of your family to give them a good sleep.

Again, you must remember to take off the focus from “sleeping” as an activity - it should come naturally to them. Don’t stress on the fact that they should sleep because its bedtime, rather ensure that they feel relaxed and calm when they’re tucked in.

The steps are small, but they are effective in the long run while being key to a healthy lifestyle.

FAQs

Q1: Why do children develop erratic sleep patterns?
A1: Children’s sleep can be disrupted by distractions such as electronic devices, late-night TV, and irregular routines, leading to unhealthy sleep patterns.

Q2: How can I reduce the impact of electronics on my child’s sleep?
A2: Switch off TVs, tablets, and other gadgets at least two hours before bedtime to help your child wind down naturally.

Q3: Should children have a fixed bedtime?
A3: Yes. Setting a consistent bedtime according to your child’s natural sleep pattern helps regulate their body clock and ensures better rest.

Q4: How can I create a sleep-inducing environment for my child?
A4: Use dim lights or lampshades, play soft lullabies, and narrate bedtime stories to create a calm and relaxing environment.

Q5: How important is bed comfort for children’s sleep?
A5: Very important. Comfortable bed linen, appropriately firm mattresses, and supportive pillows help children sleep soundly and wake up refreshed.

Q6: How should bedding change with seasonal temperature changes?
A6: Swap comforters and blankets according to the season. Use warmer layers in winter and lighter bedding in summer for optimal comfort.

Q7: How can parents make sleep feel natural rather than forced?
A7: Focus on creating a calm and relaxing bedtime routine rather than stressing “sleep time.” Let the child feel relaxed and secure when tucked in.

Q8: What role do family traditions play in children’s sleep?
A8: Familiar, comforting items like ancestral dohar blankets or family bedtime rituals can provide emotional comfort, helping children sleep better.