tips that’ll help you tuck your children in bed without a struggle
Parents, how many times have you heard this. ‘Can’t I stay up 10 more minutes?!’ Well, fear not! Here are tips that’ll help you tuck your children in bed without a struggle. This comes from Dr. Judith Owens, director of the pediatric sleep disorders clinic at Hasbro Children’s hospital in Rhode Island.
• Tip #1: Turn off the TV…And the iPod, and the computer, and the video games. Experts say electronics get your child’s central nervous system revved up, which affects their ability to fall asleep. So turn everything off an hour before bedtime, and do something relaxing with your kids – like reading a story together.
• The next tip to get your kids ready for bed: Serve them a pre-bedtime snack. About an hour before bed, give your little ones a glass of milk and a couple of whole grain crackers. Milk has an amino acid that helps the brain produce serotonin, which helps soothe your child’s body so they can fall asleep. And the carbohydrates in the crackers will enhance the effect of the serotonin. But whatever you do, DON’T give your child caffeine or chocolate before bed! They’ll be up for hours!
• And a final tip to help your kids go to bed: Don’t overschedule them. If your child’s day is jam-packed with school, soccer practice, drama club, and a million other activities, it could wreak havoc on their sleep pattern! Why? Because if your child doesn’t have time to wind down, they’ll go to bed feeling anxious, and they won’t sleep. So make sure all homework and extracurricular activities are finished at least one hour before bedtime, so your child has time to wind down.
• Tip #1: Turn off the TV…And the iPod, and the computer, and the video games. Experts say electronics get your child’s central nervous system revved up, which affects their ability to fall asleep. So turn everything off an hour before bedtime, and do something relaxing with your kids – like reading a story together.
• The next tip to get your kids ready for bed: Serve them a pre-bedtime snack. About an hour before bed, give your little ones a glass of milk and a couple of whole grain crackers. Milk has an amino acid that helps the brain produce serotonin, which helps soothe your child’s body so they can fall asleep. And the carbohydrates in the crackers will enhance the effect of the serotonin. But whatever you do, DON’T give your child caffeine or chocolate before bed! They’ll be up for hours!
• And a final tip to help your kids go to bed: Don’t overschedule them. If your child’s day is jam-packed with school, soccer practice, drama club, and a million other activities, it could wreak havoc on their sleep pattern! Why? Because if your child doesn’t have time to wind down, they’ll go to bed feeling anxious, and they won’t sleep. So make sure all homework and extracurricular activities are finished at least one hour before bedtime, so your child has time to wind down.
