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“Tired minds don’t plan well. Sleep first then play later.” by Bill Walter.
Bedtime anxiety. Whoo! that's a good subject. When I tell my boys its bedtime it’s as though I rang an alarm in their head that screams, “No, no, no.” When they were younger and it was bedtime they would immediately need to go to the bathroom. They didn’t have nightlights and would constantly come into my room. I thought they were just trying to get out of going to sleep. As time went by and they became more verbal. They would tell me that they had nightmares which made it difficult to sleep at night. Which was really hard for them. Nighttime can be difficult for kids. Think about it, it’s dark which fires up the imagination; in addition to the fact, they are scared to go to sleep because of bad dreams. I created some routines I’d like to share that have helped my boys go to sleep easily and have fewer nightmares.
1. Bedtime conversations and Snuggles
Take a seat next to your child’s bed, snuggle up beside them, and explain what’s the routine for the night and let your child know that once you’re done its time for them to go to sleep. When you say it's time to sleep, it's time to sleep. Don't give in to whining when they start saying “ Don't leave or sleep with me all night.'“ Tell your child in advance that you want to spend some special time with them. But can't stay too long since you both need to sleep. During the conversation try not to talk too much instead ask them questions and listen to their fears and stories. The fact you are listening will helps them feel more comfortable and help with their fears.
2. Limit screen time before bed.
Yes. I said no screen time before bed. It is this thing in society right now like I watch TV before I go to bed. However, when you do this, what you're doing is you're cutting down on the blue light emitted from screens, which tells the body that is still daylight. So melatonin, which is something that the body secretes, to let you know it's time to go to bed. So, at the very least, is preferred that you turn the screens off two hours before they go to bed. But I would advise at the very least 30 minutes.
3. Consider melatonin
I don't know if you are familiar with melatonin, but it is a supplement that you can get from your local Whole Foods or health food store. And it's very effective to help your child be able to get back on a sleep cycle. It’s a natural substance produced by our bodies that give us that oh-so-sleepy-feeling. You can also trick your body into naturally releasing melatonin by keeping light down and blocking natural light before bedtime.
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4. Don't skip the story
A bedtime story can focus your child's mind in a positive imaginary way and help them forget their worries. Reading aloud to your child has been shown to improve vocabulary and be beneficial to development and bedtime is a perfect time to read your kids.
Routine, routine, routine. With this being said, do you have a bed routine? Do your kids have a bedtime routine? Routine is important because it lists your body know that Oh, it's about time to go to bed. Sometimes its brushing teeth. It could be a story. I'm doing my journey with my boys. We have like, kind of switched out different routines. We have used acupressure to help relieve anxiety. We used traditional warm milk and honey. Honey is a natural sedative. Did you know that?
I learned that a couple of years ago and I'm still astounded by it.
We have used sleep apps for kids. Actually, Amazon has some great ones where they take them through this imaginary trip, you know, verbally and they go to sleep and they rest very well. But just a routine in general, you know, to let them know like before, it's actually like, it's time to go to bed. What happens before them and when they go to bed. What proceeds that very important.
I have a couple A little more that I will actually post on my Pinterest board.
And you can follow me at Genie Dawkins on Pinterest, and I will also share them on my Facebook group as Genie Dawkins So, till next time, remember, you are awesome and always be patient with your child and yourself. Till next time.