Children who get little sleep are more likely to have behavioral issues, be prone to general moodiness, and struggle to reach their full potential. Having a child who is not getting restful sleep or enough sleep can put significant stress on parents.
When your baby has trouble falling asleep, it can be a difficult time for the whole family. You can make bedtime less problematic and more enjoyable by learning some healthy sleeping tips. Sleep problems can include small episodes of sleep or sleep interruptions. The constant night interruption can lead to baby irritation and parental fatigue.
Every child’s sleeping patterns are unique, but on average, newborns up to 6 months of age sleep 16 hours per day; some babies sleep as little as 11 hours or as much as 20 hours; older babies (6 months to 1 year) sleep about 14 hours per day; toddlers sleep between 10 and 13 hours; and pre-schoolers sleep between 10 and 12 hours. Your doctor may advise you of the typical number of hours of sleep your child needs.
TYPES OF SLEEPING PROBLEMS
Difficulty settling down to sleep
Up to one third of children exhibit a resistance to sleep, which is a very common problem for infants, toddlers, and young children.
Separation issues and co-sleeping
The Canadian Paediatric Society states that many families decide to let the parents and their young children share a bed.does not recommendCo-sleeping. Some parents claim that co-sleeping can support regular breastfeeding, but it can also disrupt sleep for the parents, cause conflict in their close relationships, or make your baby reliant on you for sleep. There is also a link between co-bedding and crib death (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome).
Night awakening
Night awakenings are when a child wakes up in the middle of the night and is unable to fall back asleep. It is common for the child to cry, call out for their parents, or get out of bed. Many parents let the child sleep in the parents’ bed for the rest of the night. This may result in the child becoming dependent on the parent to fall back asleep. The child should be reassured and brought back to his bed. The child eventually learns self-soothing techniques.
Nightmares
As many as one in two children experience nightmares, which are nightmares that cause fear or anxiety.
Night terrors, which differ from nightmares in that the child appears to awaken in horror and frequently screams in panic, are distinguished from nightmares by the fact that the child typically does not recall what caused the feelings of fear.
Sleepwalking
A bell hung on the child’s door or on the front door may give you peace of mind that you will hear your child sleep-walking. Sleepwalking affects approximately 15% of all children, most frequently affecting those between the ages of 4 and 12. Sleepwalking children typically wander around the house aimlessly, appear uncoordinated, frequently do not make sense, or begin urinating somewhere other than the toilet.
Healthy sleeping habits
Newborns fall asleep very easily when sucking on a nipple or pacifier, and young children appear to fall asleep easily when held or rocked.
Develop a consistent nap and bed time routine
Your child will likely benefit from a consistent nap and bedtime routine. Toddler naps should last no more than two hours and should end no later than four o’clock in the afternoon.
The age and level of energy of your child will determine when he should go to bed.
· giving a bath
· putting on pajamas
giving a bottle or breast milk
· dimming the lights
· nighttime cuddling, stroking, singing,
· storytime
You can then kiss the child goodnight, put the baby in the crib or the young child to bed, and leave the room. By following a regular bedtime routine, you can aid your child in falling asleep more quickly.
Create a welcoming sleeping environment
Keep the room dark and quiet; avoid using nightlights; instead, leave the door ajar and turn on the light in the hallway so the child can use the bathroom without being afraid of the dark.
No blankets, crib bumpers, or other soft materials that may obstruct a baby’s breathing should be present, and your baby should wear a sleeper that is warm enough to eliminate the need for a blanket once they are old enough to roll from front to back. Your baby should sleep on her back, toward the bottom of the crib.
Do not give such items during early infancy as these may be risk factors for crib death, but you may give your child a stuffed animal or blanket to offer him a sense of comfort when he becomes aware of separation at bedtime.
In order to avoid having to go through the soothing to sleep process several times a night if your baby wakes up and discovers you have left, your baby should learn to fall asleep on his own.
React to infant crying when appropriate
In the first few months of life, babies and newborns cry to communicate needs; pay attention to their cries.
It is completely normal for babies who are 7 or 8 months old to cry before going to sleep.
If, however, your baby has grown accustomed to having you around when falling asleep, you can try to reduce this dependence by gradually lessening your time in the bedroom. One approach is to lay your child down, leave for a few minutes, return and stay until the child sleeps. Every evening, stay out of the room for a little longer until your baby learns to sleep alone. After about 5 to 7 days, your baby will learn to sleep alone.
Recognize your child’s delaying tactics
Parents and caregivers should put the child back to bed right away and warn them that there will be consequences if the behavior is repeated. The consequences can include closing the door or not offering stories at the next bedtime. Toddlers and young children are particularly skilled at prolonging the bedtime routine.
Tips for Improving Your Child’s Sleep
- Establish a regular bedtime and stick to it; similarly, the waking time shouldn’t vary by more than an hour or an hour and a half from weekday to weekend.
- Establish a peaceful bedtime routine that includes things like reading a story to your child or giving them a warm bath.
- Give children no caffeine-containing foods or beverages within six hours of bedtime.
- Verify the bedroom’s temperature and lighting to ensure that they are both cozy.
- A low noise level should be maintained inside the home.
- Avoid feeding kids a lot of food right before bed.
- Playtime after dinner should be leisurely since too much activity right before bed can keep kids up.
- TV and video games should be turned off at least an hour before bedtime, and there shouldn’t be anything playing on a computer, mobile device, radio, or music player as the child drifts off to sleep.
- Parents should avoid getting into bed with a child in order to get them to sleep. Infants and children should be put to bed when they appear tired but still awake (instead of falling asleep in their parent’s arms, or in another room).
HOMOEOPATHIC REMEDIES
BELLADONNA 30--Half opened eyes, jerky movements during sleep, groaning and screams, grinding, stertorous sleep, somnolence, sleepy but unable to sleep, hands under the head while sleeping
BENZOICUM ACIDUM 30– —Wakes, gasping for air and feeling his heart race.
BARYTA CARB 30–-Talks while dozing off, twitching.
CALCAREA CARB 30-Snoring, nightmares, inconsolable screams, frightful and fantastic dreams.
ARG MET 30—Screams, agitated, terrifying dreams, and insomnia.
CAUSTICUM 30-No sense of passing urine; hardly believes until he confirms the sensation of touch. Restless sleep. Starts laughing and crying. Drowsy can hardly keep awake.
**CINA 30-—-**Restless while sleeping. Lies on abdomen, knee-chest. Screams, talks, and cries; awakes frightened. Hangs his head to one side. Will not sleep unless rocked.
EQUISETUM 30—Has visions of large crowds.
FERRUM MET 30—Defeated, restless, and drowsy, they lie on their backs and doze off after falling into the water.
KALI BROM 30—Somnambulism begins, followed by a deep sleep, horrifying dreams, and moans and cries.
Night terrors, somnambulism, affectionate dreams, restlessness, and waking up in a panic are all symptoms of KALI PHOS 30.
KEREOSTEM 30-—Has nightmares about urinating in a degrading manner, falling poisoned, and being on fire. Wakes up from a deep sleep needing to urinate but is unable to hold it in. Restless, tosses, and won’t fall asleep until being caressed and rocked.
LAC CANINUM 30—She dreams of urination
MERCURIUS 30-—Anxiety keeps me awake, I dream about water, and I see thieves and animals.
NATRUM MUR 30—Somnambulism begins and absorbs sleep, tossing vivid, terrifying dreams of robbers.
Somnambulism, vivid, lewd dreams about fire, unfinished business that begins while she is sleeping, lying on the right side of the bed. **PHOSPHORUS 30-—**
PULSATILA NIG. 30—Lies with feet drawn up, hands crossed on the stomach or over the head, and talks or screams while being restless and tossing around.
RHUS TOX 30-—Exhaustion, blood, fire, and tossing in sleep; restless.
Talks loudly, stirs during sleep, becomes restless, and has anxious dreams about urinating.
SILICEA 30-—Somnambulism. Talks and laughs a lot. Dreams of Lascivious, who is sociable, murderous, restless, and who awakens scared.
SULPHUR 200-—wakes up singing after taking catnaps and talking, jerking, and tossing around while asleep.
THUJA OCC. 30– Death by heights-related nightmares.
Awakens in terror from vivid, terrifying, restless dreams while taking tuberculinum 200.
Screams, jerks, starts, and exhibits somnambulism. ZINCUM METALLICUM 30.
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