My top 5 hacks to improve your child’s sleep (without sleep training)
We all know by now that sleep is important. For our kids, and for us. Sleep can make or break the parenting game for most of us and it really is a cornerstone for our own health. If you’ve been the parent of a wakeful baby, you’ll know exactly what I’m talking about here. Here’s the real scoop: babies are not supposed to wake up all night long. Most kids I see with this issue are either quickly helped with the things I’m going to run through in this blog, or have some sort of underlying issue (a topic for another day!).
The problem with the internet these days is that everyone has an opinion that masquerades as fact. The amount of fake news booting around when it comes to sleep is mind boggling, even to me, much less to a first time parent. So, how about instead of telling you all the things you’re doing wrong, we dive into the top 5 hacks that will improve your child’s sleep, tried and tested by parents all over the world.
- Establish a consistent bedtime routine
This is an oldie but a goodie and is honestly one of the absolute best things you can do for your kiddos sleep (and yours too!). Having a consistent bedtime routine will signal to your babe that it’s sleep time. Our brains are designed to notice patterns so that it doesn’t have to focus so hard on everything and can focus more on it’s number one priority: our survival. Rituals are an absolute game changer for our kiddos sleep!
A good bedtime routine will consist of activities that gradually wind your child down. As a little baby it might be something as simple as a bath, a massage, a feed and bed. As they get older these routines will expand to include dinner, books, extra cuddles and negotiations with toddlers. As they get older, I cannot emphasise enough how important it is to include some sort of activity that allows them to get the last of their energy out, preferably outside.
The more consistent your bedtime is in terms of both time and activities, the easier it’ll be to get your little to sleep.
- Check the sleep environment
Our in laws sure do love telling us all about how we slept in bright rooms with vacuums going, ammirite? Some kids will sleep okay in this environment, but at the end of the day, humans are designed to sleep in the dark, we are not bats.
If your child is particularly sensitive, this won’t just be a nice thing to have, it will be an absolute necessity.
A good sleep environment will be dark, quiet and a good temperature (guidelines state that the room should be around 20-22 degrees in a 1.0 tog, but take these with a pinch of salt. Being a Darwin gal, this power bill would require a second mortgage on my house!). The sleep surface should be clean and flat and the cot shouldn’t have extra things in it. Once your babe is in a toddler bed and is over 2, you can introduce a pillow and blanket, but until then I recommend keeping them in a sleeping bag. Not only will this keep them warm, but it usually helps to stop them trying to chuck a Houdini out of the cot.
- Spend time outside
For beings designed to spend time outside, we sure have found a lot of ways to keep ourselves indoors! Getting outside is one of the absolute best things we can do for our kiddos sleep. I recommend taking them outside as close to the start of their day as possible (if you can’t get outside, near a brightly lit window is also good) and trying to get some direct sunlight before 10am for a nice Vit D hit.
An outside activity is my absolute favourite for the end of the day as well as they tend to incorporate big movements like riding bikes, swimming and jumping on trampolines which are all excellent for our littles!
- Check your daytime naps
One of the worst sayings ever is “never wake a sleeping baby”. You can ABSOLUTELY wake a sleeping baby to ensure that they’ll sleep well at night.
I love following cues with the best of them, but for new parents, this can be confusing AF. This is why I absolutely love awake windows and general guidelines on nap lengths. Of course, every baby is separate, but they’re a great jumping off point. The amount of kids I’ve seen who have gone from waking 10 times a night to 2-3 times JUST by tweaking their daytime naps would make your head spin.
Download my free routine & nap guide here
- Babies are hardwired for connection
This is a missing piece in soooooo many households – we’re just so busy! I know you’ve got 500 billion things to do on a good day, but spending even 10 minutes playing trains, barbies or even colouring can do WONDERS for your child’s sleep.
For very little babies – skin to skin directly before bed, massage or a nice big feed will fill this connection cup. For toddlers, spending time sans the screens or other distractions can be the difference between a bedtime battle that would give Spartans a run for their money and a nice peaceful drop off to sleep.
At the end of the day, working on sleep is not all about cry it out methods and ignoring our instincts. By understand sleep, we can help our littles (and ourselves!) to get more of it so that they can thrive, not just survive.
Steph xx
