Help Getting to Sleep
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[…] Making the Switch While your child is getting used to her new bed and learning that it is indeed a cozy, safe and secure place in which she can relax her body and fall asleep, you will need to provide that security with your presence. First of all, make sure that during your lead-up to bedtime, you are helping her body slow down and get ready for sleep. Have the house gets darker and darker (turn out the lights and pull the curtains if it’s summertime) and your manner gets slower and slower, softer and softer, throughout the process. If you read your child stories before bed, only read one. If it’s very short, you can read the same story two, or even three times. Read it a little slower and softer each time. This way you are helping your child wind down, instead of winding up with lots of new images. Then tiptoe to bed and tuck your child in. Read my post on Help Getting to Sleep, here. […]
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Wow this is a great post. I have one of those finger wanderers. I will have to give your suggestion a try!
This one helped so much. I will use these ideas to support nap time. I have come to parts of this with time, but now the whole picture is there. Thank you! Paulie
Hi Faith,
My spouse and I are wondering about your thoughts on when to transfer toddler from crib to little toddler bed. I want my son to have the freedom, because he isn’t a tiny baby anymore, but I also want my sleep – and his sleep as well. For his entire life, we have had a really good sleep routine, and I don’t want to muck anything up. He is now two, and he’s not climbing out of the crib. I have friends who do attachment parenting, and their little one has always had freedom, but they have also always been sleep deprived…
Thanks for writing! My opinion is that children value security over freedom, and that beds are very private, cozy spaces that provide a secure space for a child to relax. So I would suggest keeping things the same until they absolutely need to change (he starts climbing out, or he is moving out of night-time diapers and needs to get up to go potty). Then, when you do make the switch, be prepared to change your bedtime routine around significantly, as you’ll need to provide that security that he needs through your presence as he gets used to his new bed. You’ll probably want to stay with him till he’s asleep for the first while, then gradually leave earlier and early as he develops the ‘habit’ of lying in bed until he’s asleep. Hmmm…sounds like a blog post topic in the making!
These are wonderful ideas. My daughter is now 11 but she has always been so busy and energetic at bedtime. As an older baby and toddler we kept backing up her bedtime, which helped quite a bit; but it wasn’t until she was around age four that we brought back the rocking chair… wow what a difference. I always felt there was a slight sensory element going on. Rocking her in the chair or even in my arms on her bed made an incredible difference. She is still greatly calmed by swinging and rocking.