I know too well about not sleeping as I love my sleep but don’t always get enough of it. My main issue is that I don’t always fall asleep easily. Now I know why this is and so I try and avoid eating chocolate in the evening or having caffeine after 5 pm. Those are my two main sleep stoppers. When you are a parent you are very aware of what stops you sleeping and therefore you tend to do something about it. When you don’t sleep so well you accept that is just the way it is, and your body pulls you through the day. That’s the only way I can describe it.
Children find getting to sleep a bit trickier, so parents need to address children’s sleep stoppers. When they can’t sleep, they can get frustrated or annoyed which does not help their brain to rest and relax. So, what can we do to help children to fall asleep easily?
How To Address Children’s Sleep
Well, parents can try the following tips:
- Ask them what they have to do the following day. Is it a day they are looking forward to? Is there anything they can look forward to? If they think it is going to be terrible ask why would it be terrible and how would they know if they haven’t experienced tomorrow yet?
- Is your child panicked by the number of things they have to do tomorrow or seeing someone in particular? Could they be more organised so there are less things to do tomorrow?
- What was their day like today? Can they share it with you? Can they do anything about their day, if it was not so great, to make it better or do they need to do something tomorrow to change things? If so, they can make a decision to change things going foward but still cannot change their today.
- Can they think about all the good things that are happening in their life if they are dwelling on the things that aren’t so great? It may be friends-related or work or home stuff.
Children need to put their day behind them and not worry about what tomorrow may bring. It is a skill and also a habit that everyone needs to get into.
For more information on helping your child with other issues they may find difficult have a look at, The Parents Toolkit or give me a call to find out how life coaching for children could help you.
Other Resources to Help Reduce Stress and Promote Peace
If your child is struggling to sleep because they are stressed or have some kind of worry on their mind, you may also find some of the following articles useful:
Dealing with Overwhelming Feelings
Help Children Deal with Worries
Read more parenting blogs on helping children deal with stress.
The Wow Board – Highlight the Good Things in Life
The Wow Board is a unique self-esteem tool for children to help them see the positives in their life. Fill it in at the end of each day to see what went well and which things were ‘wow’!
Make positivity and gratitude a daily habit!
