Getting your child to fall asleep every night is a feat. Warm milk, fluffy pillows, stuffed animals to snuggle with and endless litany of bedtime stories; it takes a lot to get your tot to doze off. If you are lucky, the blissful silence of the night will carry on until the morning. If not, be prepared to console a teary child through the night. Sometimes, you are so desperate for your child to fall asleep that you almost don’t care where they sleep. And what started as a temporary arrangement soon develops into a compulsive habit. Your child has to sleep in your bed with you; there is no other way to it. Here is what you can do to break the habit and get your kid to sleep in their own bed. Understand Why Your Child Wants To Sleep In Your Bed with You Rather than just letting your kid sleep with you, try to figure out the reason behind it. It might be difficult confronting an upset child, but you have to do it at some point or the other. Your child might be insisting on sleeping with you due to the following issues: • The eerie darkness of the night might be giving them the creeps • They are scared of the things that go bump in the night • They feel lonely and believe this is how they can get your attention • Kids often feel there is a boogeyman lurking in the shadows of their room. Knowing the problem will help you take appropriate steps to rectify it. Establish a Fun Bedtime Routine Develop a fun bedtime ritual for both you and your child, something that your kid looks forward to. It does not have to be anything elaborate. Just simple things like reading, humming your favourite tunes, discussing highlights of the day or even saying prayers can do the trick. All this will help your child to relax and drift off to sleep peacefully. Make Your Kid's Room More Welcoming Ever heard of the term "age-appropriate"? Placing a delicate crystal vase in your kid's bedroom is not what is appropriate, but infusing bright colours and interesting themes are. Allow your kid to be part of the decoration process by letting them pick their own bedroom colours. You need to be extra careful while picking a bed, especially when the kid is making transition from the crib to bed for the first time. While for some kids size is no problem, others may feel intimidated or even threatened by the sheer size of the bed. Proceed In Steady Stages Establish a ground rule that he/she has to sleep in their own bed and make no exceptions. Make the transition steady, but firm. Rather than shifting the child after they have fallen asleep, help them sleep in their own bed. To make the process easier, you can also give them a "protector" to hang on to. The protector can be anything, their favourite blanky or a stuffed animal that they connect to. All this can go a long way in making them feel protected and safe. Include Some Nightlights Night is the time, when most terrors come alive for kids. The only way you can banish that boogeyman is by investing in fun nightlights or glow torches. The warm glow of the torch can be instrumental in making the room friendlier. With patience and understanding, you can help your child fight their nightmares. And no matter how hard it may seem, don’t fall for their tears. Getting children to fall asleep in their own bed is a feat impossible to achieve. What warm milk, fluffy pillows, stuffed animals to snuggle with and endless litany of bedtime stories cannot do, bunk beds can. For good deals on kids bunk beds in Toronto, click on this link.
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