The Ups and Downs of Bedtime

Your child is suddenly wide-awake, charming, and talkative. Unfortunately, it’s bedtime—maybe way past bedtime. It’s not uncommon for very young children to resist the whole idea of going to sleep, or even going to bed.

Children do need quite a bit of sleep. Getting enough sleep recharges children’s minds and bodies. It helps them fight off illness and makes it easier for them to concentrate and learn. And, as every parent knows, it’s easier to get along with a rested child.

As a parent, you are the best person to determine how much sleep is right for your child. But even when you have a pretty good idea of how much sleep your baby or toddler needs, making sure he or she gets it can be another matter altogether. Most young children aren’t able, just yet, to recognize how tired they really are. And often they lack the ability to calm themselves down for sleep. They need your help in this.

Although it’s impossible to make a child sleep, there is much you can do to help sleep come more easily. Here are some suggestions that have worked for other parents:

• Have a regular bedtime. You can count on habit to help your child feel sleepy.

• Avoid putting your child on his bed or in his bedroom as a punishment for misbehavior during the day. Understandably, doing so only makes bed seem like a place to avoid at all costs.
• Tell your child what you’ll be doing after he or she is in bed. Some children hate to miss out on anything, and will be reassured to know that those interesting noises coming from the kitchen are only you putting away the dinner dishes. 
• Adults usually find themselves doing things the same way night after night before they go to bed. They might watch the news, have a snack, and brush their teeth. Children like routines, too. Knowing what to expect next makes them feel safe. And children who feel safe can relax and fall asleep more easily. Even babies who can’t talk yet can anticipate what comes next. A simple, slow-paced routine might include taking a bath, listening to a story, and getting a good-night kiss.

Play Together

• Toddlers enjoy the gleeful language found in Edward Lear’s nonsense verse, “B Was Once a Little Bear.” Try making up your own verses. Like Lear’s, they needn’t make sense. Your child will delight in hearing the rhythm, rhyme, and sound of your voice.
• Just changing the initial sound of any word can help you come up with a string of nonsense rhymes. Your creation of  “puzzley-wuzzley-fuzzley” may not win any prizes, but it can win something equally valuable: your child’s fascination with language.

• The lyrical “Wynken, Blynken, and Nod” is another verse that’s a pleasure for children to hear. Double the fun by reading all the verses of this poem to your child. You can find them here.