Photo by: Joe Santos

Helping Your Child Conquer Sleep Issues

by Dawn Meehan
Photo by: Joe Santos

This post is sponsored by GoodNites® Underwear.

As a mom of six kids, I can’t count how many times over the years I’ve helped a child deal with some sort of sleep issue. From the bouts of night terrors my oldest son went through, to the bedwetting, to the fear of the dark, the thunderstorms that bring the kids running to my bed, the mysterious illnesses that seem to only manifest themselves when it’s time for lights out, and the bad dreams my middle daughter often has, I’ve seen it all. And now, my teens seem to have some strange disorder that makes them sleep until noon!

In my experience, the number one thing you can do to help your child conquer their sleep issues is to create a relaxing bedtime routine and stick to it. Children thrive on routines and it’s very calming when they know what’s going to come next. Having a bath, snack time, teeth brushing time and story time (or whatever you want to include in your routine) in the same order every night can ease anxiety and fears and get your child ready for slumber. Believe me, I’ve had nights where I thought I was too busy to walk the kids through the bedtime routine so I let them stay up and play before abruptly telling them to get in bed. It took easily two or three times as long to settle them down and get them to sleep on those nights. I would’ve been better off taking the time to enjoy the bedtime routine with them in the first place, than to trying to herd six kids running around the house like wild monkeys.

Talk to your children. What better time to discuss the day’s events than when everyone’s winding down and getting ready for bed. Talk about any problems and brainstorm solutions together before turning out the lights for the night. Just like you would have a difficult time falling asleep if your brain were spinning, thinking of a stressful situation that happened during the day, your child will be affected by stress as well. Do what you can to eliminate it.

Take the time to address your child’s fears and concerns. If they’re afraid of the dark, get them a nightlight. If they’re afraid of monsters lurking under their bed, help them to realize the shadows in their room are just that – shadows.

And help your children have a good night’s sleep by making certain they understand that bedwetting is not their fault. Let them know that they’re not alone, as millions of kids wet the bed, and that it’s not a big deal. Ensure them that they’ll grow out of it. And in the meantime, make sure they stay comfortable and dry through the night by using GoodNites® Underwear.

Sure, you’ll probably still have to deal with those occasional bad dreams and the thunderstorms that bring the kids running to your bed. But by following a bedtime routine and taking the time to help your kids unwind, you’ll be helping them conquer sleep issues and ensuring they all have a good night.

Dawn Meehan is a mother of six, author of Because I Said So… and a respected blogger at Becauseisaidso.com. She is part of the GoodNites NiteLite panel.

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11 Comments

I agree with Dawn that consistency is key. Especially with babies and toddlers when sleep training is really taking place and setting them up for good sleep habits for the rest of their lives is paramount. The book on the topic that I adore is "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child" by Dr. Weissbluth. It's awesome! My toddler currently sleeps 10-11 hours per night and my 1 year old sleeps 12. Plus they both nap about 2-3 hours each day (the older only takes one nap, the younger takes two)...

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my son is 13 he sleeps all day and he is up all night its that he has his days and nights mixed up what can i do

Children do like familiar sound,scent and a loving touch.I put my child to sleep and then place a Mumoocie body pillow behind him since the cover retains heat and scent. He sleep soundly and stays in his bed all night.

Hi,
Thanks for your advice.. much appreciated.
I also wanted to let you and the moms of teenagers know that the 'strange disorder' that makes them sleep until noon is to do with their hormones and their brain chemistry. Apparently they physically cannot go to sleep early and need to sleep late.. check out Dr Joann Deak's work.
She is a children's educational speaker (travels all over to schools) and gets deeply in to the brain science...

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Thank you so very much for your post! My children have been TERRIBLE sleepers since they were in the womb! LOL! Every night they both end up in bed with my husband and I, which causes us to lose so much sleep since the children are very fitful sleepers! We both end up waking groggy and cranky because we are lucky to get about 5 hours of sleep. We have tried putting them back in their beds, but they always seem to end back with us...

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I'm looking forward to my 2 year old starting to talk, so that I can use some of these verbal techniques to help him sleep. Right now, he is up every 30-45 MINUTES wanting something to drink, crying and carrying on until he gets his milk. This starts at midnight typically, and continues until 8am when he's up for the day. I am totally exhausted by then, as I also have to play all day with him since he is not yet in school.

....HAVING ISSUES WITH OR TWINS BEING UP FOR 3 HRS AT NIGHT WIDE AWAKE???WHY DOES THIS HAPPEN?

And then there are some who have sleep issues in spite if all the sleep hygiene possible - relaxing rituals before bed, completely regular routines, sleep/wake times, no traumas, yada yada....
I found the hard way that doctors are all too willing to blow off sleep issues as not being of much consequence, when they can be devastating to body and mind...

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Having trouble with our 4 year old. She does not want to sleep alone. She shares a room with her 11 year old sister and wants to sleep in her bed instead of her own. We have tried rewards, and charts. We have a bedtime routine that is the same each night. My older daughter is great about my younger sharing her room, but does not always want to share her bed. I completely understand, but don't know what else to try. Any ideas?

If your child wets the bed, don't fret - as Dawn said above, it is SO common, and your child will outgrow it. One thing that I find makes it no big deal for my 6 year old daughter is to call the overnight underwear "BIG GIRL nighttime underwear" - she is proud to be a big girl, and has no stigma wearing it.

Good points and here are some other ideas on children and sleep by Dr. Kyle Pruett at the following link:
http://blogs.goddardsystems.com/Cedar-Park-TX/2010/01/09/...

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