How can I get my child to go to sleep?

Question

Getting my young ones off to sleep is really hard. Story time could last for hours and just getting them upstairs is a real mission. I find it hard not to lose my temper. How do I make going to bed fun?

Answer 1

Well i'm not sure how to make it fun but I guess you could always try using that Johnson and Johnson Bedtime Lotion on them. It has lavender in it and the scent of lavender is suppossed to make you sleepy or to help you sleep better. My sister-in-law uses it on her baby. It really works good and it smells good, too.

Answer 2

The old routine of bath, feed, bed has always worked for me.
Don't expect them to go to bed just after their food. they will have lots of energy! Feed them at least an hour before bed time.

Stagger bath and bed times if the are more than 2 years apart. Then you have to wind them down. Turn off the TV and the computer, put on only quiet preferably soporific classical music (UK station Classic FM from 7pm GMT is excellent). Bath time should be short without wild playtimes during the week but with lots of opportunities for cuddles in a towel. Then a little drink of milk, teeth clean and into bed . Snuggle them down.

Keep bedroom lights very low and have a little chat about the best bits of their day if they are old enough. Talk about only the nice things that have happened and speak in a warm quiet way that sets the scene for sleep.Then just two stories. one chosen by you and the other by your child before kisses adn lights out ( leaving gentle music on).

If they get out of bed then say bed time and take them back for the first two times. Any more than that just take them straight back. They will get the message but will really test the boundaries. Stick to the routine and a fixed bed time and they will get the message. Be a very boring parent at night time if they wake.

Good luck! We've been there!

Answer 3

About an hour before bed, start calming them down, no rough play or busy TV, then a warm bath with lavender oil in the water, a short story, then bed and take no notice if they object, be firm and if they get up, just put them back in bed without comment or fuss. After about a week they will get the hint, that when you say bedtime you mean it. Make sure you stick rigidly to this routine. Good luck

Answer 4

This is what we did. Works for us, well, most of the time!!
I tried keeping any drama/tantrums separate from the bedroom. If they see the process of going to sleep as distinct from having fun, staying up with you etc then they'll rebel against it. So you need to try and make stories in bed as the reward for good behaviour in the time leading up to bedtime.

So letting them know bedtime is coming, brushing their teeth, getting them into pjs etc do in another room, and then basically play up the whole aspects of stories. So, you might say, we're going to have three books at bedtime if you're good, if you're naughty, they'll be no books etc. Maybe buy them a couple of new books to kick things off. When they're in bed, and you're about to read them the first story, say "daddy/mummy is going to read you three stories tonight, then give you a cuddle, and then you'll go to sleep in your own bed as your're a big boy/girl" have lots of fun with the books, make sure the last one is a slower one with a bedtime ending, and between books restate the fact that you'll read the stories, then give them a goodnight cuddle, then they'll go to be etc.
Once you've done this, cuddled them etc and left them they'll probably cry or get upset, sorry, don't know how old they are. You can leave them for a while but then go in and see them. Over a period of a week/two weeks you can extend this time out by, say, 5 mins a night, in the end they'll hopefully go to sleep by themselves.

This kind of thing is incredibly tough, and very exhausting. What I'd suggest you do is kick it off on a monday and say to yourself, "we'll get this working over 2 weeeks" and then work hard at achieving your target in that timeframe.

You also need to make sure they get up at a consistent time, it's pointless trying to get them to go to bed if they're wide awake.
Wind things down as you approach bedtime, more gentle games, perhaps watching something relaxing on telly,
Not much to eat immediately before, perhaps some milk/water to drink

Answer 5

The deterioration of culture due to fast paced life , and change in life styles due to undue importance to gadgets that seem to make life more comfortable, has victimised the percolation of the age old art of teaching , in a subtle manner, the technique of activating sleep centre during a person's childhood itself.
Lullaby singing was an alternative (though a stupid substitute), for some time in this intervening period.
So go back to basics, go through the ordeal of singing a stupid repetitive musical mumbling till the child feels dull and sleeps.
In India, ancient mothers hold the child in a particular way for a while and the baby learns to self-induce sleep !

Answer 6

Routine is the best bet. make sure you set a routine that is the same every night (except maybe the weekends) When it gets close to bed time let them know have teeth brushed and PJ on and if they do that with no problem rewarding them with 15min extra play time or tv time and then 30 min story or sometimes just talking about tomorrow and then lights out and off to sleep. If you keep to a good routine for a few weeks I think you will find they will go to bed much more easily and you will be happier. Good luck and happy parenting.

Answer 7

I always started with a bath, then story (but only 1 or 2 whatever you decide) then darken the room and put down to sleep, if they leave their bed just return them to it, calmly. My kids didn't like me returning downstairs so I would clean the bathroom sink so that they could hear me there and it wasn't long before they fell asleep. Just keep consistent in whatever you do.

I think the most important thing is to make sure that the child is actually tired first ! so many parents expect kids to do things like sleep or eat when they actually dont feel like it, this immediately causes problems.

Good luck - it does get better!

Answer 8

Make sure you have a bedtime routine and be consistent. Give them a bath, let them have a drink of water, read them two stories and then it's sleeptime. After a few days they'll realize it's no use asking for more stories and they'll give up. Most little ones love having a bath, so use that to get them upstairs. Consistency is key.

Answer 9

hahaha I have three children and if they didn't have a routine I would have to be put in a asolum! Anywho, Here is what our routine is:
My 11 year old:
8:00 pm - shower
8:30 pm - read in bed, set timer at 30 minutes
9:00 pm - Lights out

6:30 am - wake up
7:00 am - breakfast
7:30 am - leave for school

My 6 year old:
7:00 pm - bath
7:30 pm - bedtime story, set timer at 30 minutes
8:00 pm - Lights out

7:30 am - wake up
8:00 am - breakfast
8:30 am - leave for school

My 4 year old:
8:30 pm - bath
9:00 pm - read in bed, set timer at 30 minutes
9:30 pm - Lights out

9:00 am - wake up
9:30 am - breakfast

Now I am a stay at home Mom so this works for me! I bought three timers at the dollar store and I set them at the time I want the lights to go out and they "ding" The kids know what this means and they follow along. My 11 year old does this on his own, he sets the timer by himself and sets it next to his bed while he reads (We'll all get tired when we read in bed) My 6 year old is just starting to read so I still read to him at night with his help with small words. I still read to my 4 year old. But when that timer goes off that means lights out! NO exceptions even if we haven't finished a story we bookmark it! I started this when my oldest was young and it was a game to him. Now it is just habit! And the younger two were just born into it when they learned from there older brother! Good Luck!

Answer 10

Get them up earlier in the mornings. Bathe them just before bedtime. Tell them a story and just before you turn the lights down low, say "Goodnight, I'm going downstairs now and I'll be back up in ten minutes to check on you" I had terrible trouble getting my one into bed at night time - but once I started doing this it worked a treat and he is normally asleep before five minutes has passed now. Good luck.

Answer 11

Sticker charts can work well. Draw a ladder and at the top stick a picture of something they really want. (A small toy). Each night that they are in bed and stay in bed by bedtime they get a sticker. When the chart is full they get a prize. After a while it becomes habit.