Do you remember when you slept eight hours a night
without waking for nothing? If you have small children, probably will
seem a distant memory. According to a survey by the American National
Sleep Foundation in 2004 to 69 percent of children under age 10 have
trouble falling asleep and staying asleep. What about the other 31
percent? What is your secret? To know we consulted with leading sleep
experts. This enabled us to discover some of the surprising strategies
that really work:
Babies do not sleep: basic course
Although
infants tend to sleep 18 hours a day, are in short periods of time
throughout the day. Here are some ideas for your little one gather such
"sleep raticos" especially at night.
Put him in his crib when drowsy, not fully asleep
This is not easy, especially for moms who are breastfeeding, but if
you can figure out how much you'll get the rest you need. Babies who
sleep alone are more likely to fall asleep faster and learn how to
soothe themselves to sleep, he claims Kim West, author of Good night, sleep tight (Good Night, Sleep Tight.)
West is a social worker in Annapolis, Maryland, and a professional
sleep consultant who has helped over 2,000 families across the country
to sleep in their little ones.
This is his advice: When your baby is 6 to 8 weeks of sleep creates a
scale of 1 to 10. 1 is fully awake and 10 is fast asleep. Wait until
your baby is at number 7 and put it to sleep. Move arms and legs less
vigorously and not suck so hard (moving from feeding, sucking to calm
down) are clear signs that it is entering the world of dreams.
Try not to look at your baby's eyes
Many babies are stimulated very easily. A loving your look can make
them happen to be tired to be in good shape faster than it takes to say,
"Oh no". See how your baby reacts to your look is great and
disheartening at noon to midnight.
Parents who maintain eye contact with the sleepy babies are
inadvertently encouraging them to come out of the area of sleep, says
Claire Lerner, director of a nonprofit organization called Zero to Three
that promotes the health of babies and young children. "The more
interaction there is between you and your baby at night, have more
motivation to wake up."
What can you do? Lerner suggests lower the level of everything. If
you have to enter the area where your baby is sleeping at night, do not
hold your gaze, you talk or sing your favorite song of Juanes. Keep your
eye on her stomach and caress your back gently and sweet and calm
voice.
Take him to the dark side
"The lights activate the button biological implementation of your child," says Elizabeth Pantley, author of The baby sleep without tears (No-cry sleep solution.) Conversely, the dark causes the brain to release melatonin, a hormone key to sleep.
If your baby sleeps during the day than at night, help to recognize
the difference. During the day, let in plenty of sunshine in the house.
Put your baby to nap during the day in well-lit rooms (unless you have
trouble sleeping naps). To induce sleep at night installing dimmers on
the lights, not only in the room of your baby but in other rooms where
the two spend much time. Reduces light intensity one or two hours before
the time of going to sleep at night, to set the mood. Night lights are
fine, but choose ones that are small, bluish-off (the yellow and bright
white are more stimulating).
If your child wakes during the night does not turn on the lights or
take him to a room that is well lit. The transition from darkness to
light tells your brain it's time to take action. Instead, reassure to go
to sleep in the room. If the morning sun makes your child get up too
early or if you have problems with afternoon naps, install curtains that
darken the room.
Cut your dependence on the baby monitor
According Pantley, a mom or dad to jump every time I hear a sigh
passed through the baby monitor is teaching your child to wake up more
often. Instead, sync your post to go to comfort your child between the
time you know you're awake and when you will begin to mourn his lungs.
Wait a few minutes to give him the chance to calm down and go back to
sleep alone. On coming before they put you mourn a full stop before
you're too angry to go back to sleep.
In any case, is either to reduce the sensitivity of recording the
sounds of your baby monitor. Adjust the volume so you can go when
agitated, but not to hear every breath. Eventually, you might want to
turn it off completely.
Relax the rules for changing diapers
Resist the urge to change your baby every time you wake up, wake up
because you'll make more. Instead, put a good Pantley advises absorbent
diaper night when you go to sleep. When you wake up, smell it to see if
it is dirty and change only if there is no choice. And if you have to
change, there is nothing to wake a baby more than a cold wet washcloth.
Try replacing it with a warm washcloth.
And you thought things could not get worse: not sleeping babies to toddlers who do not
Hard
to believe, but by the time your baby is two years, has spent more time
asleep than awake. On average, children need 12 to 14 hours of sleep a
day, including naps (Older children, 11 to 13 hours). Do not be alarmed
if your child ends up with the routine of two naps. Around 18 months is
not uncommon for a child to spend two naps a day. But reducing their
naps in the middle means that the dream of at night is a high priority.
Keep the routine short and simple
A variety show with various acts: a bathroom, three books, two songs
and a massage can delay the time to go to sleep forever. "Before you
know it, your well-intended routine for bedtime has become for your
child at a time of transition for the time to play," says Mary Ann
LoFrumento, pediatrician and author of Simple Parenting: Understanding Your Newborn and Infant (Parenting simple: how to understand your baby and your child.) If your child resists going to bed, stay focused on sleep and do not let your child direct the show.
LoFrumento suggests that parents of children who have difficulty
maintaining sleep to maintain a routine of no more than 15 minutes (it's
okay to be a little longer if your child does not have trouble falling
asleep). Fifteen minutes is all you need to take to put on pajamas, read
two short books and say goodnight.
Make the connection
"One of the biggest mistakes parents make is not to connect the
dream of children and their behavior during the day," says Pantley, who
attributes many of the behaviors that are considered part of the
"terrible twos" a lack of sleep . "Irritability, complaints, fights with
his brother ... all are rooted in the lack of a good night's sleep."
Her advice? Make him go to bed earlier. (See our next tip, "Recall the
night")
Retrieves the night
Exercises control and provides an early hour of bedtime, preferably
between 7 and 8 pm, says Pantley. "Children are not watching the clock
to see what time it is. Just waiting to be told they have to go to bed."
So pick one and keep it.
Controls the temperature
Certainly, the 72 degrees Fahrenheit (22 Celsius), seem very
comfortable for a room, and that is fine when you're awake. But the
ideal sleeping temperature is between 60 and 70 degrees Fahrenheit (16
and 21 degrees Celsius). This is because sleep comes with a drop in body
temperature, and this is the reason that a bath before bedtime helps
your child to sleep before. The bathroom leaves you warm and
comfortable, and then the cooler temperature makes your body temperature
drops, which causes him to sleep.
Lower the thermostat a bit at least one hour before bedtime. If you
forget, install an automatic thermostat. Set it to lower the temperature
in the afternoon and the rise in the morning, and your child can fit
the rhythm.
Awaken your child at the same time each day
A consistent routine is important to wake up as a regular bedtime.
Children must be raised at about the same time every day (with a
difference of 30 minutes). Avoid letting them sleep late during the
weekends, says Pantley. "What we do with this is to ask the children
living in two different time zones, time zone during the week and one on
the weekend," he says. "As a result, have jetlag permanent. "
The fact that your children do not benefit from a little extra sleep
on the weekends does not mean that you do not go well. If the weekend
morning is the only time to recover your sleep, Take turns with your
partner for your child to continue waking up at the same time.
Children going to school and age to reason
As
children do not sleep and do not need naps cots or nursery rhymes,
develop a great skill: the ability to reason. "Parents have less direct
control to make an older child goes to sleep, so the solution is to make
your child a companion and show the importance of having a good night's
rest."
Children 5 to 12 need 10 to 11 hours of sleep at night. Pantley
suggests appeal to your logical side. At this age, children are old
enough to understand that hormones that help them grow are released
during the night, and they need sleep to reach its maximum height, he
says. Use the same logic you use for good grades or sports: sleep well
if their brains are in a better way to remember what they learned in
school that day, and their bodies perform better at football matches.
End the night owl
Staying up late is one of the most common problems of children
already attending school. Parents often contribute to the problem
because they want to spend more time with their children at the end of
the day. But let the countdown: "If your child needs 11 hours of sleep
at night and tends to rise at 7 am, then you have to be asleep at 8 pm,"
says West.
Merienditas for Better Sleep
Make your child more prone to sleep giving something healthy to eat
to help you sleep, an hour before you go to bed. There are some foods
that naturally induce a release of serotonin, a sleep of our body. Try a
glass of milk, whole wheat toast with a slice of cheese, half peanut
butter sandwich or oatmeal with bananas.
During the day, reducing or eliminating foods or beverages
containing caffeine six hours before bedtime. According to the National
Sleep Foundation, 75 percent of school-age children have drinks with
caffeine such as colas. Because most of these drinks are empty calories,
consider eliminating them entirely from the diet of your child.
Avoid homework before bedtime
Children who do their homework before going to bed usually stay up
late and are sleepy the next day. There are scientific studies that link
the irregular patterns of sleep behavior and academic problems. The
school children are desperate for more sleep, says LoFrumento. "Many
parents have told me that their children have improved a lot in school
after improving their sleep habits."
Instead of leaving your child's homework until the last minute, plan
a regular time to work before or just after dinner, suggests
LoFrumento. "Let your child has enough time to play sports, jog or just
relax after a long day at school, but make sure you finish your work at
7:30 or 8 pm" If your child usually has problems because it has lot of
homework, talk to your teacher or teacher. "
Choose well your child's mattress
Most adults spend hours choosing the perfect mattress for your own
bed, but accept any mattress for the bed of his son, says Pantley.
Pantley suggests that you lie in bed 30 minutes of your son. Analyze if
it's comfortable, what the pillow and blanket if it is warm and
comfortable. Make it a place you wanted to sleep.
Rule out medical problems
Like adults, children can have diseases or medical problems that
interfere with your sleep. Up to 12 percent of children snore and up to
10 percent have sleep apnea, a disorder in which the airways become
partially blocked and reduce air intake, which makes the child wakes
from a deep sleep . Although the problem goes away for many children as
they grow, help ask your pediatrician if your child snores too and if
you are excessively sleepy during the day.