Well, my son is 2 1/2 and for the past year or so he has slept from about 8pm to 6 or 7am and the also naps from noon until 3 or 4pm. When he slept like that he seemed happy and rested.
Now for the past week he cant fall asleep until almost 10pm and also doesnt nap well, barely 2 hours instead of the usual 3-4 hours.
He is whiney and has red rings under his eyes so I know he is tired. What causes this and what can I do to help him sleep?
We had no changes in routine, no stress or anything else come up.Everything is like always.
Any advise is greatly appreciated!
2007-02-15 06:13:16 · 3 answers · asked by Jenni C 3 in Pregnancy & Parenting ➔ Toddler & Preschooler
It's not that he "can't fall asleep until 10"...if that truly was the case, then he wouldn't be so tired these days.
The thing is, when a child gets this sleep deprived it makes it harder for them to sleep. You'd think it'd be the exact opposite, but it's not.
I suggest putting him to bed at 10 pm for a couple days. Do your same routine, and put him to bed at 10 pm. After a couple days, put him to bed 15 minutes earlier. Each couple of days, put him to bed 15 minutes earlier than the day before and before you know it he will be falling asleep at his old time.
As for naps, let him sleep as long as he will. If it's only 2 hours, be happy with that. He may have matured a bit so he doesn't need as long of a nap as he did a few months or a year ago.
Since he's so sleep deprived, and since that is making it harder for him to fall asleep, try to relax him as much as possible before bed. Here's some tips:
-Darken the house a little before bed time. Turn off any bright lights, and only have on a few lights in the house. There is actually a chemical in the brain that causes sleepiness and it is triggered when your eyes aren't seeing bright lights.
-Give him a warm a bath scented with lavender. Lavender is a very calming smell and will relax him.
-Give him a small amount of warm milk about a 15-20 minutes before bedtime.
Hope this helps..Good luck and God bless :-)
2007-02-15 06:30:53 · answer #1 · answered by CelebrateMeHome 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
check if he has an ear infection. My Pedi says that sleep trouble among kids that otherwise sleep well, is the most common sign of ear infection. The red rings do not sound good either - put a call to the nurse just to check.
hope he feels better and sleeps better!
2007-02-15 14:21:40 · answer #2 · answered by SS90 4 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Lack of sleep in children can cause serious
health problems.If parents follow some simple
techniques for making their children sleep,
it can be avoided. I found useful information
at http://nosleep.in/sleepchildren.html
2007-02-17 09:19:07 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋