Many parents find that young children don’t like to go to sleep at night. Maybe your child
is afraid that he’ll have a bad dream. Perhaps he’s nervous that he’ll miss out on something important by going to bed. Your child might even be afraid of the dark. Regardless of your child’s nighttime fears, it is important to take the steps necessary to help your child fall asleep. There are a number of ways any parent can help a child fall asleep quickly and without fear.
Give your child a warm bath
Chances are that you give your child a bath on a re
gular basis. Consider making this part of your bedtime routine. Instead of bathing in the morning, for example, let your child soak in the tub in the evening before you get him ready for bed. You can add a few essential oils, such as lavender or peppermint, to help your child relax even more. While bath time can be fun, remember to focus on helping your child calm down from his day.
Sing to your child
Many parents worry that they aren’t good at singing. That’s okay! Remember that you are singing to your child and not to a large audience. You don’t have to have a perfect singing voice. You don’t even have to know all the words to the song. Your child doesn’t care how you sound. He’ll simply care that you are singing to him. Rock your child or sit with him when he’s in bed and sing a song to him. Consider picking a song that you only sing at bedtime in order to help your child associate the song with falling asleep.
Read your child the same story each night
One way you can help calm your child is through repetition. Pick a story you can handle reading every night. It should be something calming that your child will look forward to. Consider choosing a story about a child being brave or someone facing their fears. You could even pick a story about a child who is afraid of the dark but overcomes that fear. Read the same book each night, at least for a while, so your child gets used to hearing the story.
Make sure your child is warm enough
Some children have trouble falling asleep if they’re uncomfortable with the temperature of the room. Make sure your child’s bedroom
is a comfortable temperature. If your little one tends to kickoff his blankets at night, make sure you dress him in extra warm pajamas, complete with socks. Many parents take advantage of footie pajamas in order to keep their child’s feet warm at night. Similarly, if your child’s room gets too hot in the evenings, you could place a small fan in the room.
Add some white noise
If your child’s bedroom tends to get very quiet at night, your little o
ne may be uncomfortable with the silence. After all, too much silence can be overwhelming. Any little noise your child hears may frighten him. Consider fixing this simple problem by adding some white noise in your child’s bedroom. This could be as simple as placing a fan in his room. You could also opt for an air purifier. Similarly, some parents choose to play gentle music in their child’s bedroom as a way to provide simple, relaxing noise.
Give your child a night-light
For any child that is scared of the dark, a night-light is absolutely essential. You could pick out a night-light that matches your child’s bedroom or you could simply opt for an inexpensive plug-in night light from your local dollar store. If your child likes looking at the stars, you could even pick out glow-in-the-dark stars to stick to your child’s wall. He’ll have some light in his room, as well as a focal point if he starts to feel nervous or uncomfortable.
Remember that helping your child fall asleep without fear can take time, but it will happen eventually. Even the bravest of
children occasionally get scared at bedtime. Fortunately, with patience and consistency, you’ll find that your child eventually is able to fall asleep without fear.
