Children’s bedtime can sometimes turn into a real crisis. To avoid screaming and crying in the evening, a health professional gives her advice. Here are four tips to try urgently, if you are in this situation.
Are your children refusing to go to bed, to the point that you now dread bedtime? Here are four tips, shared by Hannah Sylcox, an occupational therapist and mother of two children, via her Instagram account. Four tips to implement to put your children to bed peacefully, both for them and for you.
Swaddle your children
You are probably familiar with swaddling, a technique often applied to newborns to comfort them and help them fall asleep. It consists of wrapping the child in a blanket, so that he feels supported. The trick can be used with older children, explains the occupational therapist. Simply lay the child on a blanket and wrap him in it, leaving his head outside. “This provides deep proprioceptive stimulation to the child’s body. It’s calming for their sensory systems” she explains.
Pressing the child’s body with a pillow
Along the same lines, you can take a pillow and press on the child’s body, once swaddled. This also allows “deep pressure to be exerted on the child’s nervous system”, according to the professional.
View this post on Instagram
Swing it on an exercise ball
Exercise balls can be used to gently rock children on their stomachs in a back and forth motion to calm them. According to the specialist, the repeated movement helps calm the child’s nervous system, who manages to relax, before going to bed.
Consult a doctor online for your sleep problems
Warm your comforter and blanket
Finally, the pro’s last tip is to give your children a warm bedtime. To do this, she recommends putting their comforter and blanket in the dryer for a few minutes, in order to heat them before putting them to bed. They will be delighted to find their cozy bed every evening.
