We all know how important sleep is for our children. Those precious, quiet hours are much needed for their growing bodies and minds. Without an adequate amount of rest, you can quickly see the effects on their behavior, their ability to regulate their emotions, a lack of concentration, a compromised immune system, and the list goes on…helping your kids get a better night’s sleep can benefit everyone involved. With school about to start, here are some tips to help your children get the best sleep possible! So they can start the day with a clear mind and soak up all that knowledge.
I’ve always been very strict about bedtime and always made sure my children were getting enough sleep. I felt like everything was going great till we moved earlier this year. All of a sudden, my 2 older kids who had been sleeping great, started showing signs of sleep trouble. Having a hard time falling asleep, waking in the middle of the night, restless, and unable to fall back asleep. And my toddler started getting growing pains in his legs that were keeping both of us up at night.
I could empathize with all of it because I had all those problems as a child. Even now as an adult, I still struggle with sleep. I’ve probably never slept through the night…EVER! LOL! I’m not kidding! Something had to change, I couldn’t lead my kids down the same rabbit hole. Time to nip this in the butt.
Since we homeschool, I quickly noticed a lack of focus during school work. There was struggle, frustration, and everything just dragged on. The lack of sleep also affected everyone’s mood. The kids just snapped at each other all day long. The move and starting a blog all at the same time, definitely didn’t help the dynamic of the family. I knew what a needed to do to get things back on track. I’m glad to report that after a few weeks of following these next few tips, everyone is now getting a better night’s sleep.
A Bedtime Routine.
I truly believe kids thrive on a routine. No matter what age they are, knowing what’s coming next alleviates the stress of the unknown, and helps them stay calm. Of course, life will throw things in your path to make you deviate from your routine, extra homework, and extracurricular activities. But, for the most part, keeping a routine will benefit your child’s sleep.
Our bedtime routine starts right after dinner. We aim to eat at 5 p.m. so the kids have enough time to digest before going to sleep. Experts say to eat 2-3 hours before bedtime to aid in a better quality of sleep. The kids know it’s quiet, wind-down time as soon as we’re done dinner. Restricting screen time is important for children and adults as well, as too much can suppress melatonin levels.
They will go wash up, put their PJs on, brush their teeth, and undo their beds. We will then sit together and fill out our gratitude journals. This is a great activity to do before bed. It helps fill their heads with positive, happy thoughts to drift off to sleep. I’ve noticed when we don’t do this, that my son’s anxiety takes a hold of him and his mind runs and doesn’t let him fall asleep.
Another crucial point I’ve noticed in helping them fall asleep is spending time with myself or my husband before bed. All 4 of them need to reconnect with us at the end of the day. Even though my 2 eldest are almost 11 and 8, they still love when I read them a bedtime story. So we’ll pile up in bed and I’ll read to them.
The nights we are out very late with family or friends, without fail, my kids have all woken up with night terrors. Their minds need that quiet time before they fall asleep, or else it stays on high alert. Summer is always difficult due to that.
I feel like this goes without saying as well, but limiting water at bedtime is a must. Your children will obviously not get a good night’s sleep if they are waking every hour to go pee. My kids will have a tiny bit before bed, but not down a whole glass!
Support a Healthy Sleep.
Unfortunately, we are seeing a rise in anxiety in children. There can be so many reasons why, but excessive screen time can greatly lower psychological wellbeing. Aside from using computers for school, we will limit screens to weekends. And let me tell you, I see a huge difference those days in the quality of sleep my children get and their overall happiness.
From my pregnancies, I knew that magnesium supplements improved your sleep and helped regulate anxiety. Magnesium acts upon your nervous system and helps calm and relax you. I found a great one for kids recently and saw an amazing difference in how long it took the older 2 to fall asleep and how many times they woke through the night. They’ve been taking MAG365 Kids from ITLHealth for a few weeks now. Their favorite way to take it is tea. I love it because it also has some immune-boosting nutrients, which is great for the upcoming cold season.
Growing Pains.
Not all children get growing pains…2 out of my 4 have so far. And if you’ve never experienced them, let me tell you, they are awful! I had them growing up regularly. I still do sometimes. No one knows exactly what causes it. They are called growing pains, but it doesn’t mean it’s happening because you’re growing. It’s an aching pain that can resonate from your feet to your hips. So hard to pinpoint exactly where it hurts, it feels like it just radiates all through your legs. It’s such an awful feeling to wake up in the middle of the night.
My 3-year-old gets them the most often. And of course, at that age, all you want to do is cry! Really loud! And the nights he does get, he wakes throughout the night crying and asks me to massage his legs. I had an epiphany one day and thought, I wonder if magnesium oil would help…and HALLELUJAH, it did! I’ve been using the Cece Magnesium Oil from Beauty from Bees and I’m so happy with it! When he’ll wake with them, I will spray it onto my hands and massage his aching leg till he falls back asleep and that’s it…he doesn’t wake up again anymore…it’s sorcery, and I’m all for it!
Restless Nights.
As a child, I remember waking up at night and being filled with anxiety at the fact that I was the only person awake in the house! I would spiral into a fear tunnel and not be able to fall back asleep for what seemed like hours. So when my 7-year-old started coming to me in the middle of the night a few months ago, I knew exactly how he felt. I knew he was waking me for the comfort of not being the only one awake.
I was recommended to try using Quietude from Boiron which are homeopathic drops that help with mild sleeping disorders. Having used Boiron products for my babies in the past, I jumped on it. Some nights he wakes to go pee and stops by to say I love you. But on the nights he comes to me more than once and tells me he can’t fall back asleep, I’ve been giving him a little vile. It’s been helping calm him and allowing him to fall back asleep for the rest of the night.
There can be so many reasons why your child may be suffering from sleep trouble. But having a few tricks up your sleeve, and paying attention to why it may be happening, can help both of you resolve the issue. Getting a better night’s sleep is crucial for the whole family. Rested family=happy family. I hope these tips help you and your little ones catch some zzz. Thank you for stopping by today!
Elisa
