help children sleep better

Help Children Sleep Better

Smart Ways To Get Peace

80% OF KIDS HAVE SLEEP ISSUES

● Pre-schoolers need 10 to 13 hours sleep

● There are SMART ways parents can help kids sleep better

Are your kids overscheduled?

● Here are some warning signs:-●

● If your kid NEVER says s/he is bored……..

● They may have too many after school activities

● They may be producing too much of the stress hormone, cortisol

● Ideally they should be tired at bedtime but not exhausted!

Always follow the same routine

● Kids love routine

● Keep to the same one every night

● Wind down time, relaxing chat

● Teeth & PJs

Put them to bed when they are drowsy● This is when they are producing the sleep hormone, melatonin.

● Don’t miss the drowsy slot!

● Miss this one and they may be awake for hours!

Winding down time and relaxing means

● No arguments or fights

● No violent video games

● No noisy TV shows

● No TV news

● No horror stories as bedtime reading

Here’s a great story

Take a quick look here

Help them deal with nightmares

● Make sure night lights are on, torch nearby and toys monster spray

● Be prepared to reassure them when they wake up

● Ask them to draw it the day after to help them process it

● Use the Lully app to help reduce night terrors by 80%

Watch out for sleep issues

● Obesity and lack of sleep have been linked

● The reason may be that fatty layers in the throat can cause apnea

● Sleep apnea has grown by 400% in 20 years

● Are asthma and allergies causing them problems?

● Are they drowsy during the day?

Stick to bedtimes and wake up times

● Holidays are a temptation to relax the routine BUT….

● Fewer hours or sleeping in can affect kids, just like jet lag

● Interfering with their sleep wake cycle is not worth it

● It will be difficult to get back into the routine once school starts again.

Switch off all devices

● Difficult to implement if you have teens in the house!

● But CDC says only 8% of teens are getting their 9 hours of sleep

● Good news is that 21 states in the USA have later school starting times

Meds and drinks can keep kids awake

● Coffee, soda and iced tea are stimulants so best avoided late evening

● Lots of meds also contain caffeine such as:

● Painaid,

● Excedrin

● Hycomine

Avoid eating dinner late

● Eating means supplying you with calories to get you going and active

● Eating late may make kids hyperactive and not help with winding down

● Include calcium rich foods such as cheese, broccoli, carob, and spinach.

● All that calcium keeps serotonin levels high and that avoids them getting

cranky around bedtime

Avoid rocking your child to sleep

● Toddlers and babies love the rocking motion BUT

● When they wake they will have to be rocked back to sleep again!

● This means a very disturbed night for parents

Make bedtime special

● Winding down and getting ready for bed is a great BONDING experience for

kids and parents

● Make the most of it - try chatting, reading, relaxing and avoiding any

controversial issues with older kids.

● Serene children and parents will be able to get a great night’s sleep.

Great resources to help kids’ sleep1. Ziger the Tiger Stories

Great stories to help with anger issues and teach kids about

animal conservation.

2. Stop night terrors

Great app which is placed under the mattress and vibrates when child is falling into deep sleep which is when most nightmares occur. It does NOT wake the child up!

3. Sign up for FREE book on ADHD and get regular parenting tips at

Problem Kids Blog