“For example,” Zentz explains, “a nine-month-old should be awake for about three hours between sleep. A newborn should only be awake about 45-60 minutes. And most parents don’t know that, so they’re asking themselves whether they should be sleeping all day. And the answer is, well, yeah pretty much!” When kids are not getting enough sleep during the day, that triggers trouble settling at bedtime because they’re wired, completely exhausted, and overtired.
If you’ve got nap times sorted or your kids are growing out of day sleeps and they’re still resisting bedtime, turn your focus to habits. Consistently nursing, rocking, bouncing, or driving your child to sleep will teach them to resist sleep until that happens — not very practical on a nightly basis, especially if they’re waking up at two in the morning!
“Sleep is a skillset fundamentally. If we teach children the skill of sleeping and empower them with the right timing to set themselves up for success, they’re going to fall asleep easier. And frankly, it’s much easier for them, too. They don’t want to rely on the props that they’ve come to know, but that’s how they know to fall asleep.”
Here are three simple ways to teach your kids the skill of sleep. You might just find the adults in the family have a thing or two to learn as well!
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