If you would like to help your child relax before going to sleep at night, there are some tried, tested, and foolproof methods you should start to try out at home. Getting your child to relax and calm down is all about taking the right approach and getting into a bit of a routine with things. When you put forth the effort, you will see the significant difference it makes.
Let Your Child Enjoy Bath Time
While you may normally run the water, fill up the tub, and quickly wash your child before bed, you may want to consider letting your child enjoy a bit of relaxing bath time for at least 20-30 minutes each night. In fact, you can add a few essential oils to the water, including chamomile essential oil and lavender essential oil, both of which are known for making people feel much calmer and more at ease. Gently wash your child’s hair, carefully massaging the shampoo through the head to help your child relax even more while spending some extra time in the tub.
Grab a Good Book to Read Before Bed
The perfect way to end a long day is to get your child tucked in under the sheets and then read a book with one another for a few minutes. Select a chapter book that is interesting enough to your child because then you can agree to read at least one chapter each night. While you are reading, make sure to dim the lights in the bedroom so that the lights are not shining bright in your child’s face.
You do not have to read together for too long. In fact, it should take about 10 minutes for you to read through one or two chapters in the book. Make sure you are making the experience even more enjoyable for your child by truly getting into character when reading what is on the pages of the book. If your child is learning to read, you may even want to have him or her read some of the pages with you.
Meditate For a Few Minutes
Meditation will help your child relax and get ready for bed. It is a great way to simply calm down, shut everything else out, and focus on pure peace and quiet for a few minutes. You can tell your child to lie down, relax, and shut his or her eyes while focusing solely on the sounds that breathing makes. Your child may feel like it is a bit ridiculous in the beginning, but once he or she gets started, it will be easy for your child to see why meditation is so important in the first place.
While your child is lying down with his or her eyes closed, start counting the number of breaths you are both taking. Spend some time inhaling and exhaling for a few minutes. Once it becomes silent in the room, tell your child to continue breathing and relaxing quietly, waiting for a random sound to occur. You can make that sound when you feel like the meditation session can come to an end. After making the noise, your child will let you know he or she heard the noise and will then know it is time to get in bed to relax.
Play Some Relaxing Music
It may sound counterproductive but playing some music at night could put your child at ease, helping him or her unwind a bit faster. Not all sleepy time techniques work for young children, so it would not hurt to try playing some light, soft music at night. If your child gets used to hearing the same song at the same time each night, he or she will associate the relaxing music with bedtime and will quickly realize it is getting late and it is time to unwind for the night.
You can choose a song you like, but classical music is a great choice. It is a good idea to use instrumentals to different songs that are not upbeat and are much softer and more relaxing for children to listen to during a time when they are supposed to get some rest.
Relaxing sounds are great for children. Many people find a wall water fountain for the home can help. These fountains look great and the trickling sound of the water can be equally as good at relaxing children as music is.
Have Your Child Create His or Her Own Worry Journal
Have you noticed your child suddenly starts talking to you about everything that scares him or her right when it is time to shut off those lights? It is normal for children to have different fears, including a fear of being alone in a room in the dark at night. If this has become quite a habit for your little one and you are not sure what to do because it is now taking that much longer for you to get your little one to fall asleep, you should provide your child with a worry journal to write in each night.
The purpose of a worry journal is to give your child something to write in when he or she starts feeling stressed, worried, or even scared of something, even if it is something that does not really exist. Your child could make a list of all his or her worries for the night, close the book, and then lie down in the bed. It often makes children feel better just to be able to express those worries and concerns, even if they are doing so on a piece of paper. If your child is unable to write on his or her own, you can always ask your child to tell you about those worries and you can write each of the worries down in the journal.
Getting children to get into bed and fall asleep at the ideal time is often a challenge for many parents. However, it is all about getting into a routine so that your child understands when it is time to unwind and relax because bedtime is approaching. These are some of the different ways you can get your children to give you less of a hard time while preparing them to get enough rest at night. It helps to let your child spend some extra time soaking in the tub, read a good book together, do some meditation for several minutes, play relaxing music, and even have a worry journal available for your child to write in.
