Parenting & Children Notes.

A child will sleep better if he or she knows that the other people in the home all sleep well. Stress in the home could have a negative affect of the child’s sleeping as well.

This is one of the reasons that children shouldn’t know “what they don’t need to know.” A calm stable secure feeling in the home would help any child feel “at home.” To feel at home we like to feel relaxed. To sleep easy we need to be relaxed in body and soul. Do you see what I am getting at!

A child’s room should have no televisions or other forms of entertainment in it. No games machines or stereos etc. Some parents may have a stereo in the child’s room so that the child can hear some soothing music when they go to sleep, this may suit some children but a child should be able to go to sleep without any music.

A child’s room should be a place of rest and enjoyment. It is not a wise idea to send your child to his or her room as a form of punishment. This would cause the child to have negative feelings about the room. The child may feel that the room is a place of punishment and regret entering it. It could become a place of unhappiness with many bad memories in it, it should be a room of fun, relaxation and joy – and instead a place of many restful sleepy nights.

A parent should always set a time for the child to get ready for bed and to go to bed. An example is this: at 20 minutes to 9 the child gets ready for bed. He brushes his teeth and changes into his pajamas. At ten to nine he has to be in bed for his bedtime story. Nine o’clock is when you kiss him good night and tuck him in snuggly.

Back-talk from a child shouldn’t be accepted. But bedtimes are a difficult time sometimes no matter how good a child appears to be. Patience, good will and understanding would help greatly in these moments when a child misbehaves at bedtimes. I have never been an advocate of ‘let the child cry’ advice. I prefer to find out what the problem is and then find a way to sort it out peacefully. Letting a child cry and cry, is a way of causing despair in a child mind and heart, it makes the child feel sad, alone and deserted by thsoe who the child loves and needs the most.

It is more useful if you did something to find out what the problems is. Remember you are creating a friendship with your child. Your goal is not to become some heartless tormentor who will lock the child up in its room and let it howl until it cannot sleep.

We adults often have nights when we cannot sleep at bedtime. Sometimes we can, most of the time we have no trouble sleeping. But then the odd night comes along and we have trouble getting to sleep. What do you do about it?

Every once in a while you will get your child to sleep late. As long as this isn’t let to become a habit all will be well. You can explain to the child of the mistake or the reason why (such as getting home from visiting people late) and ensure the child that it will not be a habit that you will keep.

All the best from
James Martin Sandbrook.
Monday, ‎30 ‎October ‎2006, ‏‎10:10:34 PM.