Healthy sleep habits for your child: how to develop them

My son celebrated his ninth birthday last week. Every year around his birthday, he reviews available information on how much sleep kids his age need each night. Lately, my son has been waking up several times at night, so this year, he too reviewed tips to help your kids sleep better at night.

How much sleep do they need?

Babies: 15 hours or more

Young children: 12-14 hours

Preschool: 11-13 hours

Children 5 or 6 years old: 11 hours

Children 7 or 8 years old: 11 hours

Children 9 or 10 years old: 10-11 hours

Children 11 or 12 years old: 10 hours

Teens: 9 ½ hours

According to the University of Michigan Health System, you’ll know your child is getting enough sleep if they can fall asleep fairly quickly (within half an hour), can get up easily in the morning, and can stay alert all day without a nap.

How can they sleep better?

1) Most of what I read suggests that having a familiar bedtime routine helps send the signal that it’s time to start getting sleepy. It is also recommended that you choose the same time each night as your goal.

2) Eat dinner well over an hour before bedtime and avoid sugary desserts that could stimulate your child too close to bedtime.

3) Establish a relaxing routine at bath time. Perhaps by adding lavender and chamomile essential oils to the bath oil.

4) Read a bedtime story or two together while tucked under the covers.

5) Make sure the room is dark enough. That was a problem for us because of the light outside, so we had to put in blackout blinds.

6) Let your child have a Linus blanket or other security item. The sense of security it creates can help your child fall asleep more easily and stay asleep longer.

Each of these suggestions will help, but here’s more…

sleep meditation

Sit quietly with your child and help him begin to relax by taking slow, deep breaths. Then suggest that she imagine something that makes her sleepy. Sarah Wood Vallely, author of sensational meditation, it suggests a drowsy cloud overhead that causes his “eyes to grow sleepy…heavy and tired.”

aromatherapy

When adding essential oils to your child’s bath, you can use your child’s age as a guide for how many drops to include. For very young children, up to age five, use one drop for every year, but no more than three, and then continue with three to four drops until your child is older (tween/teen). Dilute chamomile and lavender by adding them to bath oil or bubble bath.