Does your child wake too early?

We'd all love for our children to sleep until at least 7 AM. This isn't the case for all children; some just seem to be early risers. Hey, 6:30 AM is acceptable, even 6 AM at a push. But 5:30 AM or 5 AM? That's unacceptable in my household.If your child is over 18 months of age there is something you can do to show them when it is time to get up.

Get a nightlight and put it on a timer. Set the timer to your acceptable wake up time. The light needs to come on at that time. Be realistic, if your child is waking at 5 AM every morning, you can't expect them to stay in bed until 7 AM (well not straight away anyway!).

Let your child know that they need to stay in bed until the light comes on. They have a visual cue for when it is time to get up. You child should be able to see the light from their bed (don’t have it too near). With a quick glance they should be able to tell if it’s time to get up or not.

Make sure you give lots of praise when they manage to stay in bed until the light comes on. You can gradually push the time a little later as time goes on. Increasing 15 minutes at least every 3 days. This is also great for children who get up during the night asking if it's time to get up.

Once your child gets used to staying in bed until the light goes off you can set your timer to go on 30 minutes later on the weekends, who doesn't love an extra 30 minutes in bed at the weekend?

Sleep well.

Does your child only take short naps?

If your child only takes short nap the chances are your child is only going through one sleep cycle before they wake up. The human sleep cycle is around 45 minutes long.

There are a 3 of reasons for this.
1.)Your child is unable to get them self to sleep and when they come into a light sleep they are unable to get themselves back into a deep sleep.

2.) They could be over tired, a child who’s over tired struggles to stay asleep and just about manages to get through one sleep cycle.

3.) Your child could be over stimulated. An over stimulated child struggles to stay asleep, much like the over tired child.

So what can you do to extend your child’s nap?

You can teach them the important skills to get themselves to sleep. If they can initially get to sleep unaided they are able to get back into a deep sleep after going through a sleep cycle.

Ensure your child doesn’t get over tired. By sticking to a routine and watching your child you can get them down for a nap before they become over tired.

Have a nice long wind down period before you start your naptime routine. Move away from your child’s toys, you can go for a walk (make sure your child doesn’t fall asleep) or sit together singing songs or looking at books. Choose something nice and quiet which, will help your child to relax.

If waking after one sleep cycle has become a habit you should try and extend the nap. Once you have got your child to sleep, remain in the room and keep an eye on the time. When your child first moves or makes a noise, take note of the time. This is when your child is coming into a light sleep. You can help your child get back into a deep sleep by rubbing their back/tummy or gently patting them. During the next nap, keep an eye on the time and go to then a few minutes before you know they are going to come into a light sleep. Try this for three days and then see if they can do it themselves.

Sleep well.

Getting sleep back on track after teething, illness or travel

There are three things that can really disrupt your child's sleep.You can have a child who is the best sleeper, goes down like a dream, sleeps through the night and wakes refreshed and in a wonderful mood and then one of three things can happen.
TEETHING
ILLNESS
TRAVEL
So many families wonderful sleep habits end when they experience one of the above.

How can we make sure that teething, illness or travel doesn't ruin our child's wonderful sleep habits? You're going to be up during the night with your child when they are teething or have an illness. Give them the extra attention they need. I always find it easier to deal with if I'm prepared to be up all night. That way even if I only manage to get a couple of hours sleep, it's more than I thought I'd get.

I wouldn't expect your child to be able to get back to old sleep habits whilst they are still feeling unwell. As soon as they are feeling better you want to start getting back on track. The longer you take to get back on track the longer it will take you to get back to where you started.

If you have already sleep trained your child, I would use the same technique you originally used to get back on track. It won't take you as long as it did the first time (maybe just a night or two) but you know what you're doing and are confident that the technique works for your family. Be aware that some techniques do alter the older your child gets.

If you haven't sleep trained your child, decide on an approach you and your partner are comfortable with. Are you going to sit with your child until they fall asleep? Are you going to lay them down if the stand up? Decide your plan of action well before bedtime starts. Make sure both you and your partner fully understand what you are doing and most importantly once you have started don't give in. Be prepared to see it through.

I promise you that putting the effort into getting back on track as soon as possible is well worth it, even if you are feeling tired. The sooner you all be getting good nights sleep again.