How to put your child to sleep without hysterics: 7 tips for parents

Teach your child to fall asleep on his own

Start from infancy so that the baby quickly learns that he can calm down on his own. Here's what you need to do for this.

Put your baby down when he's really tired

Sure signs of fatigue: the child yawns, rubs his eyes, avoids eye contact, does not respond to toys and words. This is the best time to put him to bed. If the baby is overexposed, he will become overtired and begin to be capricious. In this state it will be difficult to make him fall asleep - you will have to calm him down first.

If your child is full of strength and energy in the evening, review his daily routine. Perhaps you put him to bed late (after 20:30), or he sleeps for more than two hours during the day. Children also refuse to rest if they lack physical activity.

Leave your child alone in the crib more often

Every child craves parental warmth and closeness, but this is not a reason to carry him in your arms all the time. Teach your baby to stay alone in the crib more often. He needs to make sure it's not that bad.

Give your child a chance to calm down on his own

If the child begins to be capricious as soon as you leave him in the crib, do not rush to help him. Let him calm down on his own. If he still doesn't succeed, pick up the baby, wait until he relaxes, and put him back. He must understand that he will not sleep in his mother’s arms, but in his own bed.

Gradually reduce your participation in the process of falling asleep. Each time, move further away from the crib, but first so that the child sees you and knows that you are nearby. It is very important for him to feel safe.

Causes of tantrums before bed

There are several reasons why a child may have a tantrum before bed. The solution to the problem, naturally, will be different.

Hysteria is a way to attract attention. If you always indulge in tantrums, this can become a habit; the child will always get his way. A tantrum before bed can be a signal to parents that the baby did not get enough attention from his parents during the day, and he wants to spend as much time as possible with them.

The second reason is the repetition of adult behavior. If the baby notices the negative reaction of his parents in stressful situations, then he can copy it. If dad and mom behaved calmly and balancedly, the baby will do the same.

Another reason may be fear of darkness and loneliness. Maybe the child is afraid of the dark, and he cannot be left alone with his fear. Therefore, he can express his protest with hysterics. Changes in family life can also affect sleep. Reluctance to sleep separately from parents also provokes screams and tears. It is absolutely normal for a child to resist. If hysterics occur every day, then you should visit a neurologist.

Follow the ritual

Children love rituals: they bring a feeling of stability and security, simplify life, and relieve unnecessary emotions. The kids themselves are happy to make sure that they are followed. However, adults are not always consistent: they change the order, skip or stretch out actions too much. You can't do that! If the ritual is violated, the child experiences stress and ceases to understand its meaning.

Getting ready for bed helps you relax. Come up with a sequence of actions and follow it relentlessly every day. Usually it includes bathing, brushing teeth, wishing everyone good night and a fairy tale.

Here are some tips to help you get ready for bed:

First, switch your apartment to night mode. Turn down the volume on your TV and speakers. Dim or turn off the overhead light, use local light instead - a table lamp or sconce.
Always start getting ready for bed at the same time. It doesn’t matter what show is shown or what’s happening in the world. If you agreed on 19:00, start at 19:00.
A certain amount of time must be allocated for each action. Brushing teeth - 5 minutes, reading a fairy tale - 10-15 minutes. Don't stretch. The smaller the child, the shorter and simpler the actions should be.
Actions should always go in order.
Some children sleep well after bathing, others, on the contrary, become overexcited. Check which type your child is.
Bathing should not be active. You can add soothing herbs to the bath: valerian, mint, pine needles, lavender, motherwort, lemon balm.
The child can and will protest. Don't follow his lead.

Rules for falling asleep

If your baby falls asleep with hysterics, you must follow some rules and recommendations:

You should pay more attention to your baby before falling asleep. Let him speak, discuss his interests, events that happened during the day. Long hugs are useful, at least 15 minutes before meeting Morpheus.
It is very important that the child’s sleeping place is properly arranged. The bed should be associated with relaxation and be comfortable.
You need to set some rules before going to bed, develop an algorithm of actions that must be followed.
It is important to decide on the time of night and daytime sleep and prepare for it in advance.
There is no need to allow excess sleep during the day.
Healthy feeding. You need to have enough dinner on time. You can't overfeed your baby. After all, abdominal pain is one of the causes of tantrums in a child.
It is recommended to spend the day actively. You need to walk a lot in the fresh air. It is advisable to sometimes sleep in nature. Outdoor games, knowledge of the world, and acceptable physical activity will be beneficial.
It is worth limiting emotional stress in the evening. The evening should be spent with quiet games, reading books, and mother’s lullabies.
In addition, there is no need to delay these rituals. There should be clear limits on the number of stories read and songs sung.
If a child falls asleep only with a toy, then you should be allowed to take it to bed with you.
An important rule is clean, fresh air in the children's room. It is necessary to carry out ventilation and do wet cleaning. It is recommended to install a humidifier, thermometer, and hygrometer. In winter, there should be regulators on heating radiators.

Often a baby may become hysterical due to the stuffiness and heat in the room. Therefore, the optimal air temperature in the nursery is 18-20 °C, and in the place where the child only sleeps, you can make it even lower - 16-18 °C.

Air humidity should be between 50-70%. Bathing is very beneficial. It is important to bathe your baby in a large bath with cool water before bed. You can add soothing herbs or essential oils. In such a bath you can get quite tired and hungry. Herbs will relieve nervous and muscle tension and calm you down. After taking a bath, you should eat well. Before swimming, gymnastics and massage are indicated, after - warm clothes. All this will help enhance the benefits of bathing.

Comfortable bed. The mattress should be dense and even, and should not sag under the child’s body. Before reaching the age of two, you cannot use pillows, after which you can purchase a small one (40*60 cm), its thickness should be equal to the width of the shoulder.

Bed linen should be made from natural fabrics. It should be washed in hypoallergenic detergents and rinsed well.

Turn off gadgets

Everyone knows about the blue light emitted by screens and the disruption of circadian rhythms. The children's nervous system is most susceptible to such stimuli. Do not use smartphones and tablets even for quiet games. Let the child interact with them only during the day.

With a well-designed schedule and ideal circumstances, the child easily falls asleep on his own. However, there are times when even obedient babies become capricious and refuse to go to bed. The reasons may be different and unexpected. To understand what is wrong, be observant or ask your child directly.

Causes

There can be several reasons for tantrums before bedtime. Depending on this, parents should build their behavior tactics. The main reasons include:

The child is tired, he is trying to attract attention. Regular tantrums before bed should be a signal for parents to be more attentive to the baby during the day. Most likely, he lacks attention and wants to get it in the evening.
Compliance with the regime is an important factor in education. In order for your little one’s nervous system to be normal, it is important to follow a daily routine. If it is not customary in the family to go to bed at a certain time, this will subsequently lead not only to problems falling asleep, but also to sleep disturbances completely.
Hysteria can be a response to aggression from adults. Loud screams and quarrels have a negative impact on the psyche. This scares the baby and increases excitability.
Children under 4 years old often have night terrors. They really need their mother to be nearby. Hysteria before bed may be associated with a fear of falling asleep. Most often, excessive excitability in the evening is observed in children who sleep in a separate room.

Tantrums at bedtime in babies are due to the fact that in the first months of life they are very closely connected with their mother. When it is not there, they experience a feeling of discomfort and loneliness. The baby cannot explain what he is afraid of, so all his emotions and fears manifest themselves in hysterics.

Whatever the reason for the excited state before bed, mom and dad cannot ignore it. If you don’t take any measures and don’t help your child cope with fear and psychological stress, you can lead to a nervous breakdown.

Daytime nap

Why do children throw tantrums before naptime? Daytime rest doesn't seem to cause as many problems as nighttime rest. But this happens.

Children must rest, otherwise the second half of the day will pass with pampering and whims. Mom can get things done during this time.

Children gradually grow out of daytime sleep. This can happen at any age. There's nothing you can do about it. Daytime sleep is compensated by increasing the duration of nighttime sleep. If you don’t get up early in the morning to go to the garden, that will suit everyone.

If you want to maintain daytime rest, you need to reconsider the regime:

You need to get your child up earlier in the morning. Then by lunchtime the child will definitely want to sleep.
It is recommended to take a long and active walk in the fresh air before lunch. Lunch break should not be later than 13:00. Otherwise, overexcitation may occur and the baby will not rest. Laying should not be delayed; leave all manipulations overnight. You should just put the child down and leave.

There should be no fears in daytime sleep, since there is no darkness. But if the baby is tormented by fears even during daytime sleep, then you should consult a neurologist. Daytime naps are shorter, so your baby may boycott them. But it is necessary for both parents and children.

Tags:Hysteria

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2 comments

Veronica The bedroom and bed should not become a kind of punishment place for a child. Our girl’s bedroom is the area where her favorite toys rest. The girl arranges her sleeping toys herself and sleeps with them.
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Marina At the age of 3, when my son was replaced, he began to throw tantrums day and night, apparently the same crisis covered 3 years. Vitamins “Baby Formula Bear Calmness” from Evalar, which in addition to vitamins glycine, mint and lemon balm, helped him improve his sleep and calm down, and he generally thought it was candy and ate it with pleasure.
Answer