New parents often face a big problem – their child doesn’t know day from night. This leads to sleep rhythm problems for children, and parents too: children wake up in the middle of the night, sleep with sensitivity, etc. The good news is that this problem can be solved really easily by developing good sleep habits in your child. All you need is patience!
Playing with light can help your baby distinguish day from night. During the day, let as much natural light into the room as possible, and take plenty of walks outside so that your baby understands that it’s daytime. Even when putting your baby down for a midday nap, it should be done in full light. Unless your child has problems falling asleep during the day, you can leave the light on a little less.
In the evening, 2-3 hours before bedtime, dim the lights so your baby knows it’s night time and gets used to it. Until your child gets used to sleeping through the night and still wakes up, do not turn on the light and do not disturb him/her in the light. This would unbalance his perception of night and day.
Put your baby in the cot when he is sleepy and not fully asleep. This will train him to fall asleep on his own, without rocking.
Avoid immediately running to soothe your child when he wakes up. Often a child will start crying and thrashing in his sleep and very quickly calm down and fall back into a deep sleep. By watering your child as soon as he starts crying, you will get him used to waking up at night and he will do it all the time. However, if you hear that your child has indeed woken up, don’t wait too long and go to soothe him or put him to sleep. A child who cries for too long may wake up completely and find it very difficult to fall back asleep.
Avoid eye contact with your child when you are shushing him. Yes, it sounds quite strange, but it signals to the toddler that it’s time to play and be spoken to. This prevents it from calming down and “switching on” its sleep mode.
A good night’s sleep is very important for parents, as it determines the baby’s overall health and mood. And given that a good night’s sleep for the baby also determines the sleep of the parents, it’s even more worth it!
