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When and how to teach a child to fall asleep on their own
A sound, full sleep is necessary for normal health and good mood. However, laying the baby down often turns into hours of persuasion and scandals. In order for the baby to go to bed without tears, you need to know when to teach the child to fall asleep on their own and how to do it correctly.
Why is it important to fall asleep on your own?
Childhood whims, refusal to go to bed and crying at night seem like inevitable inconveniences of infancy that just have to be endured. After all, sooner or later, the baby must start falling asleep by himself.
Knowing when to train your child to fall asleep on their own will make it easy for you.
Unfortunately, this is not always the case. Many children have difficulty falling asleep even at the age of five, and some by adolescence already have problems with insomnia. Lack of adequate sleep affects their nervous system health, school performance and overall well-being.
There is only one reason – children do not know how to fall asleep. More precisely, they were not taught this by their parents.
How to teach a child to fall asleep on their own and at what age is it easiest to do? Much depends on the individual characteristics of the child: calm children begin to fit themselves earlier than hyperdynamic and too emotional ones. But you need to focus on the natural cycles of sleep and wakefulness that are typical for babies.
Up to 3-4 months, the baby lives on a three-hour cycle, his day consists of short periods of wakefulness and the same short sleep time. But at the age of 6 months, the child already begins to switch to a normal “solar” cycle – sleep more at night and be more active during the day. At this time, the baby’s night sleep is already 7–8 hours. And this age is just the most convenient to teach him to fall asleep
How to teach a child to fall asleep by himself
This task is not too difficult to cope with, but you will need patience and perseverance. And you also need to follow simple rules.
How to teach a child to fall asleep on his own? You need to act consistently
- Observe the regime and send the child to the crib always at the same time.
- The laying process must be made a pleasant ritual for the child. A calm, short game, an affectionate conversation or a kind fairy tale, bathing, bedding and saying good night – these daily repeated actions will set the baby up for rest.
- The child should fall asleep in the same place where he will sleep all night – in his crib. If he fell asleep, for example, in a wheelchair, and then they put him in bed, then at night he may be afraid of a new place and burst into tears.
- You can’t scold your child, shout at him or speak in an irritated tone, no matter how tired you are – the time before bed should not be associated with negative emotions. And if the baby is capricious, it is better to talk to him kindly and, having calmed him down, leave him alone.
- The child should have a constant set of things that he associates with sleep: his own bed, blanket, pacifier, favorite “sleeping” toy.
The main condition for successfully teaching a child to fall asleep on their own is a positive attitude. And here you should do your best, affectionately telling your child how to sleep well, how big he will grow up in a dream, what a good bed and an affectionate blanket he has, and a plush bunny is already waiting for a baby.
In order to teach a child to fall asleep on their own, it may take a lot of time, but a mother, showing perseverance, in no case should change her affectionate tone, then the baby will be calm and will soon get used to independent sleep.