My 5 Top Tips on How to get your little ones to sleep without the Bedtime Battle

You more than likely know the feeling – it comes to bedtime and no matter what you do you cannot get your child to fall asleep.

In your mind they should be tired!  They have been awake for several hours and you have led them through a well signposted bedtime routine full of gentle and effective sleep cues.

The problem is, the closer it gets to your baby’s bedtime the more awake they seem to become. So what can you do to overcome this issue.

1.One of the first and most simple things you can do is to identify the time your baby actually becomes tired even if it is much later than your preferred bedtime and use this as a starting point.

2.It is important that your baby associates their bedtime routine with feeling drowsy so even if you have to wait a few hours before you begin it is much better than trying to sign post bedtime when they are still wide awake. Because your baby is naturally drowsy at this time they will quickly fall asleep and you can spend the 20 -30 minutes leading up to it, taking them through a gentle routine of calm and pleasant bedtime activities.

3.As your baby learns to associate their bedtime routine with falling asleep you can then gradually move your baby’s bedtime making it 10 -15 minutes earlier until you have reached your desired bedtime hour.

4.The other thing you can do is  to stay with your child while they fall asleep and over a period of nights your pay progressively less attention to them.

For instance, over a few days you might touch your baby less often and instead of lying on their bed your might sit on a chair next to their bed. The next step would be to move the chair into the middle of the room and the step after that would be to move the chair to the door.

By making these gradual changes your baby is weaned off having to go through an extensive parental soothing routine in order to sleep. After a few days you might start leaving the room and returning when your baby begins to cry. This helps your baby learn that you can be trusted to return after an absence but you will always remain in their presence while they fall asleep.

5.If your baby wakes in the middle of the night you can try the same approach but as your baby gets used to you not being in the room you might be able to wait for slightly longer before returning.

Which ever approach you choose your once fractious bedtimes should seem a thing of the past!

It is important to remember though with all these things how you behave around your baby is crucial in setting the scene for a calm and stress free night time routine. If you are stressed and anxious about what is going to happen they your baby will pick up on this and will mirror your behaviour.

One of the best ways to ensure both you and your baby are relaxed before attempting to put them to bed is to use the gentle practice of massage. It is lovely to include essential oils as well in this night time ritual so your baby learns to associate the smell with sleep or alternatively you can buy an aroma fan which will allow the smell to be present in their room.

If you would like any more sleep tips and suggestions, please do get in touch for your free 15 – minute chat with me.

What kind of sleep issue does your child have quiz!