Even though babies, who are younger than 6 months of age, don’t have regular sleep cycles, it is still important that they get at least 16 hours of sleep.
Babies
Here are some ways that you can your baby to go to sleep:
- Have a consistent bedtime routine in place, where you certain activities such as dimming the lights, reducing the amount of stimuli in the room, reading a story in the same order and at the same time everyday. Creating a sleep inducing environment in one of the most important ways of getting baby to sleep.
- Put them to sleep when they are drowsy. This will help them to go to sleep faster, and since they will be tired, they’ll sleep longer as well.
- Make sure the room is a comfortable temperature. They should neither be too cold or too hot.
- Having white noise is a great way to get your child to sleep. This will also draw out any other sounds in the house.
- Swaddle your baby before you put them to sleep. This is very comforting for them.
When it comes to getting your baby to sleep, there is not a universal approach that will work for every baby. You will have to try different things and see what works best for your baby.
But the above mentioned things are some of the most common things that should be part of a bedtime routine.
Toddlers
When your baby turns into a toddler, they won’t need as much sleep as they did before but because they have a lot more energy in this age they will get distracted easily.
Here are some ways you can get your toddler to sleep:
- Have a bedtime routine in place, and then walk out the room after a while. It might be difficult in the beginning, but they will learn to fall asleep on their own.
- Transition your toddler to a different bed from the crib. This will ensure that they don’t hurt themselves while climbing out of the crib, and they won’t feel as restricted when they are in a different bed.
- Give them something they can hug to sleep, like a stuffed animal or a blanket.
