How to Help Children Avoid Sleeplessness
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Author: Austin Stanfel
While parenting, parents can undoubtedly have some excellent moments in their lives. But along with this, there are some undeniably scary moments too. One such case is children being unable to sleep well, which becomes a significant concern if this continues for an extended period.
In such cases of sleeplessness, you need to spot the reason behind this and ways to resolve it. The first reason could be a lack of enough activity during the daytime. This might be due to them being awake late into the night. However, if the child is active throughout the day and is still unable to sleep, you can take the child out for a walk in a nearby park or neighborhood. This will tire him/her out and enable the child to fall asleep.
Another primary cause of sleeplessness and restlessness in youngsters is when they experience acid reflux, making them reluctant to eat. If you feel this is the case, you should not lay the child flat down because this will only worsen the situation. Use a pillow instead. You should also check in with a pediatrician to identify what triggers the reflux and likely prescriptions to alleviate such ailment.
Specific temporary sleep issues might occur when you take away some of their favorite soft toys or particular blankets as it has become their habit to hold them to sleep. Besides this, if the mattress has become old, children of any age may face sleep issues. So, you should not use a bed for more than 7-10 years.
Anxiety is another cause of sleeplessness in children. This can occur even if parents are quite careful about them. Children can be plagued by nightmares or anxiety because of separation, especially when parents do not sleep near them at night. You need to consult a doctor if you find this happening with your older children.
Uncomfortable situations do not let children sleep properly. The child might not be precisely able to express this. In such a case, you can look at the setup where they sleep and eliminate things that you guess might be the reason behind their discomfort. It can be them feeling cold in winter or hot in summer because of many layers of blanket, switching on or off a ceiling fan, the degree of brightness of a room, etc. After changing this, you can then notice if they can sleep well.
In some instances, children are insomniac because of the problems they face problems related to sleep. Excess intake of sugar, caffeine, or medications can be the reason behind this. So, you can alter his/her diet as well as consult with the pediatrician for better assistance. Besides the food, a healthy routine is essential to make sure that your child gets enough sleep. This needs certain good habits to be taught, such as having dinner by seven at night, brushing the teeth before going to bed, and telling them a bedtime story while sleeping. All these changes in the routine and setups will help your child sleep better at night.