Every child needs to have enough sleep to grow healthy. Although every child has different sleeping needs, all kids need to sleep between nine and twelve hours a day. Lack of enough sleep may lead to health complications, such as headaches, hypertension, depression, obesity, and difficulty concentrating. Read on further to know about the importance of a sleep routine for kids.
Your kid maintaining a healthy sleeping habit is even more important. It helps avoid some of the challenges associated with poor sleeping patterns. However, understanding your kid’s sleeping needs can be quite tricky. Thus, consulting a family physician in Orlando, if you live within the area, would help you understand what you need to consider before setting a sleep routine for your kid.
This article has all that you need to know about a kid’s bedtime routine, including how to set it up and its importance. Read on!
How Can You Set A Sleep Routine For Your Kid?
A sleeping routine includes all the activities you perform with your kid before taking them to bed. Some of these activities may include taking a shower and putting on sleeping clothes. The main objective of having a good sleep routine for your kid is to help them fall asleep on their own, without being soothed to sleep.
There’s no specific way to set a sleep routine for your kid. It all depends on what your kid is comfortable with before falling asleep. Some kids would want to say a word of prayer or listen to a bedtime story, while others are comfortable by just telling you a goodnight message before they fall asleep. So, any activity that makes your kid fall asleep easily should be part of your kid’s sleep routine.
What’s most important when setting a bedtime routine is to be consistent. It should be fairly consistent every day, starting almost at the same time and consisting f the same activities. Following a regular bedtime routine, such as telling stories and singing lullabies songs, can help your kid associate these activities with their sleep.
The Importance Of A Good Sleep Routine For Kids
- Reduces The Chances Of Night Waking
If your kid doesn’t have a regular sleep routine, they might not be able to sleep well and might experience restless sleep.
One cause is that your kid hasn’t yet developed the skills of putting themselves to sleep. That makes it difficult for them to put themselves back to sleep when they wake up in the middle of the night.
- Reduces The Chances Of Early Rising
While you might think that your kid will sleep for more hours, especially when tired, they might wake up very early if there’s no proper sleeping routine in place. When your kid is tired, their body produces alerting hormones that make them fail to sleep easily. And, if they fall asleep, they might end up waking up more frequently during the night or rise early. All these can be solved by setting a sleep routine for your kid.
- Makes Your Child Fall Asleep Quicker
A consistent bedtime routine prepares your kid psychologically. It creates a positive emotional feeling, which helps them fall asleep more easily. A bedtime routine also helps alert your kid’s body and mind when it’s almost time to sleep. This allows the body to secrete melatonin hormone, a natural sleep-inducing hormone that helps a person become calm, thereby falling asleep quickly.
- Helps You Have A Good Time With Your Kid Before Sleeping
Your kid having a sleep routine ensures you spend quality time together before sleeping. Rather than just saying goodnight to each other and rushing to bed, you get an opportunity to bond and share sweet memories.
- Helps Reduce Resistance During Sleep time
There are many reasons why your kid may resist getting in bed, and one of them is a poor sleeping routine. While resisting to go to bed is normal for most small kids, it becomes worse if the child doesn’t have a regular sleep pattern.
Takeaway
As noted above, there are several benefits to your kid having a sleep routine. However, not only does it benefit your child, but you, the parent, as well. It’s important to make sure that your kid feels calmed before falling asleep. You can achieve that by ensuring you put your child in a peaceful and calm environment. Your child shouldn’t be left alone in a dark room as that might stress them. Instead, use a dim light bulb to help your child feel comfortable.
But if, after setting a bedtime schedule, your kid still has poor sleeping patterns, you need to take them to a professional doctor who will be able to examine them and probably recommend medication.
