“Sleepy Kingdom”: how to put a child to sleep
“Sleep, my joy, fall asleep...” sometimes you can hum this lullaby, stroke your back or tell fairy tales endlessly, but the little mischief-maker, as if on purpose, is not going to fall asleep. But healthy sleep is the key to good health and proper development of the baby. Therefore, today we’ll talk about ways to help parents put their child to bed on time and without whims.
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How to put your baby to sleep without crying
On the process of falling asleep and quality of sleep baby up to a year, the following “irritants” have a greater influence: restlessness in the tummy, hunger, wet bottom, uncomfortable clothes, stuffy room. Therefore, in order for the baby to fall asleep faster, parents need to provide him with comfortable conditions. The baby’s nervous system is not yet perfect, and he is not always able to fall asleep and stay asleep for a long time on his own. Gentle rocking in the arms helps very well in this case; the child feels that his mother is next to him, calms down and falls asleep more easily.
2-3 years old and older already consciously refuse to go to bed. They are interested in exploring the world around them and do not want to interrupt this fascinating process. However, you can lure them into preparing for bed, offer to take their favorite toy with them to bed, explain that today is time to rest, and tomorrow will be time for new entertainment.
Children Mother Nature always helps to cope with children's sleep disturbances. She gave us a large number of plants and herbs that help improve it: chamomile, lemon balm, mint, linden flowers.
Baby sedative: herbal teas
Often,
children up to three months, colic and increased gas production interfere with sleep; in this case, you can add fennel to a soothing drink.
A cup of aromatic herbal tea, drunk 1 hour before bedtime, will help calm the baby's nervous system, and will also have a beneficial effect on his entire body as a whole.
Today the store offers a wide range of ready-made herbal teas intended for children. They may consist of one or more types of herbs. This tea is produced in filter bags and in granular form, so it is very convenient to brew it for your little one.
You can prepare this drink yourself from herbs purchased at the pharmacy, observing the proportions according to the child’s age.
It is recommended to start giving this tea to your baby from 3-4 months in a very weak concentration. For the first time, it is best to use only one component, as an allergic reaction may occur.
Getting ready for bed
To child agreed to go to bed on time, you need to start getting ready for bed in advance. It is recommended to stop all noisy games and watching TV an hour and a half in advance. At this time, it is better to switch the child’s attention to quiet activities: drawing, appliqué, modeling from plasticine. You can play soothing music or nature sounds in the background.
Starting from 6 months of age, it is very important to follow a certain procedure with your child before bedtime. For example, water treatments, then a massage, a lullaby or a bedtime story. You need to follow it strictly, so the baby will quickly get used to this routine, and as he grows up, he will understand that it is time to sleep and go to bed voluntarily.
Massage before bed
A relaxing massage is a great way to put your baby in a sleepy mood, because there is nothing better than a mother’s gentle touch.
The best time for massage treatments is after swimming. It is very important that all movements performed by mom (or dad) are smooth, leisurely and gentle. The child should feel the love and care of his parents at this moment.
Preparing for massage:
- wash your hands thoroughly with warm water;
- remove all jewelry, nails should be cut short;
- prepare massage oil or cream and pajamas for sleep in advance;
- the child should lie on a hard surface covered with a blanket, oilcloth and diaper;
- create twilight in the room;
- the optimal temperature for the room is 22-24 degrees;
When all preparations are completed, you can proceed to the main part:
- Using circular movements of your palm, lightly massage your baby’s tummy and chest in a clockwise direction;
- alternately stroke the arms from the wrist to the shoulder and the legs from the shin to the thigh (without touching the knee joints) - do not forget to stretch your palms and feet;
- turn the baby onto his tummy and stroke his back, remember his buttocks;
- do not forget to talk to your baby in a quiet, soothing voice, comment on your movements or hum a song.
The duration of the procedure should not exceed 15-20 minutes.
This massage is well suited for children under 3 years old; an older child can only have their back massaged.
Stories before bed
Reading at night can become a good and kind tradition in every family. Thanks to fairy tales, a child develops imaginative thinking and develops imagination; in addition, they calm the baby well before bed and help strengthen relationships with parents.
You should choose fairy-tale stories with a calm plot and a good ending, so that the baby has a positive impression of reading it and falls asleep in a good mood. You can sit next to him, so the baby can look at the pictures in the book.
To prevent reading from dragging on indefinitely, you must immediately agree on the number of fairy tales that will be read in one evening.
In our age of modern technology, audio fairy tales that can be played on a computer are becoming increasingly popular. In some situations they will be excellent “helpers,” but they should not be abused, because not even the most interesting fairy tale can replace a child’s live communication with his parents.
Lullabies before bed
As noted above, a certain procedure for preparing for bed is very important for a baby. A lullaby can become the final stage in it.
Our ancestors believed that it has a unique healing power, and modern scientists have proven its beneficial effect on the psychological state of the child throughout his life. Children to whom their mothers sang lullabies in childhood grow up to be kind, sociable people and more resistant to stress.
In order to sing for her baby before bed, a mother does not need to have special vocal abilities; the main thing here is the love and care that she gives to the baby through singing. A native voice acts on a child of any age as a “magical” sedative and he quickly falls into a calm and sound sleep.
