What to do if the child does not fall asleep at night? Doctor Komarovsky on what to do if the child does not sleep well at night and often wakes up Never repeat the mistakes of others.

If the baby does not sleep well, you need to figure out why this is happening. As a rule, from scratch, sleep is not disturbed. Often, restless sleep in a 4-year-old child appears due to fear of the dark or terrible dreams. The baby is scared and will resist falling asleep in every possible way. There are also more commonplace reasons for not wanting to go to bed: the baby is not tired or is simply afraid to be alone in the room. However, there are impressionable children who, even if they are very tired, cannot fall asleep from an overabundance of emotions.

If the child refuses to sleep and is naughty, do not scold him. You must create a calm emotional atmosphere, hug, stroke. Being close to your baby is very important. The baby next to his mother always feels calm. Are you worried that a 4-year-old child refuses to sleep during the day? Let's calm you down. At this age, daytime sleep is no longer required. The baby will fall asleep on its own if it gets tired. And when he is alert and full of energy - this procedure is not necessary. Therefore, if a four-year-old child does not sleep well during the day, think maybe you should not force him to sleep. And in the case of disturbed night sleep, it is generally better to neglect daytime sleep. Even if the baby falls asleep, try to entertain him in every possible way.

To put the child to sleep without problems, follow these rules:

no active games before bed;

outdoor walks during the day;

proper nutrition;

physical activity. The child must be tired during the day, then he will sleep well at night;

come up with a bedtime ritual. For example, laying down your favorite toy;

massage will relax and soothe the baby;

loving and calm atmosphere at home.

It is very important before going to bed to draw the attention of the crumbs to the good moments that happened during the day, remember them again and then the baby is provided with good and pleasant dreams. As for the question - how much does a child sleep at 4 years old? Everything is individual here, but on average - at least 10-12 hours a day.

Four-year-old boy grinds his teeth at night

Many mothers face the problem of grinding their teeth. Its name is bruxism. The main reasons why the baby does this are:

malocclusion. If you notice that the child's teeth do not close, there are gaps between the teeth or the jaw is slightly protruded - visit a pediatric dentist;

jaw muscle spasm. May occur during stress;

adenoids or polyps. Nasal congestion and dry throat can cause bruxism;

teething;

sleep disturbance;

seizures of epilepsy (if the grinding is frequent and strong, you should consult a specialist);

insufficient load on the gums (include solid foods in the diet of crumbs, this will help relax the muscles of the jaws and gums).

We figured out why a child at 4 years old grinds his teeth. To minimize this problem, follow the bedtime rules listed above. Alternatively, warm compresses can be applied to the jaw to help relax the jaw muscles. If the problem does not go away, but becomes more pronounced, visit a pediatrician and a neurologist.

In pharmacies, you can buy special mouth guards for bruxism. They will prevent teeth from closing and protect your teeth from damage to the enamel during sleep.

Why does a 4-year-old child snore Another problem of sleep disturbance in children is snoring. Have you noticed that a four-year-old baby snores at night? If this is not a permanent phenomenon, then you should not worry. In the case when snoring occurs systematically, it is worth contacting an otolaryngologist.

Causes of snoring in babies:

tonsillitis;

adenoids;

allergic to something;

predisposition to asthma.

However, the most common cause of snoring is the drying of the nasopharynx. To avoid this phenomenon, make sure that the room is clean and ventilated. It's good to have a humidifier. After all, snoring not only annoys you, but also prevents your baby from sleeping. As a result, he becomes irritable and moody.

Why a four-year-old child sweats in a dream The reasons for sweating in children during sleep can be varied, the main ones are:

high temperature in the room. Ventilate more often and use a humidifier;

the baby is warmly dressed. Do not wrap the child, he should be comfortable. The most optimal sleepwear is shorts and a T-shirt, if it's cool, cotton pajamas;

excited emotional state before sleep. Avoid active games and negative impressions before bedtime;

colds. If the baby is sick, give him more liquid;

genetic predisposition. In this case, sweating is observed not only at night, but also during the day.

In all cases of sleep disturbance for one reason or another, the most effective method of struggle is a comfortable home environment in every sense. If all else fails, do not neglect going to the doctor. Any problems are better to stop at the very beginning.

The night is the time to sleep!

It just so happened that it is at night that our body rests from the day we have lived, the processes of renewal and restoration of the body are underway, our brain processes and systematizes the information received during the day. All these things are also necessary for the child's body, rather even vital. However, a child’s sleep is often a difficult issue, because depending on the age, the mother is faced with certain problems.

"How do you sleep?" - this is the main question that is asked to a young mother.

And if suddenly, you are lucky, and your child really sleeps all night long - you fall into the category of "lucky ones", or, as they say, "pulled out a lucky ticket."

But what if the child does not sleep well? What about sleep deprivation at night? This is often answered - "wait, he will grow up and sleep better."

Today we will consider

TOP 5 problems of children's sleep in older children

  1. The child is difficult to put to bed at a certain time.

From mom's letters:

“It's hard to get to go to bed. Sometimes, negotiations with tears last for 2 hours. Begging to turn on cartoons ... "

“When it’s time for bed, my daughter says “I don’t want to sleep,” you have to persuade for a long time, she can lie down and not fall asleep for an hour and a half or even get up and demand cartoons ...”

The clock is already 20-00, and maybe later, and the child is happy and cheerful, running around the apartment, playing, and maybe even watching cartoons.

When you say it's time to sleep, the baby may actively resist - start crying, say: "I don't want to sleep", or may act more gently and delay the moment of going to bed: "Mommy! Can I have another cartoon?”, “Daddy! You are so good, I see you so rarely - play with me a little more.

Or he can just climb into your arms, hug your neck and look at you with his wonderful loving eyes - and now your heart melts and you say: “Okay, a little more and sleep ...”

It seems that nothing terrible happened. The child will go to bed later for 10-15 minutes.

In fact, you gave the child an important and valuable experience: going to bed at the designated time is NOT necessary! With a skillful approach, this moment can always be delayed!

And then, after a couple of months of such practice, both tears and tantrums can be used. And we, as parents, will have to bend our line, retrain, put pressure on and force us to go to bed at a certain time.

Rule: set a clear bedtime and stick to it ALWAYS!

  1. The child goes to bed, but begins to get up on "important" matters: to the toilet, drink, eat, take a book, find a toy with which he planned to sleep.

Here's what moms say:

“My son sleeps very badly at night. A hundred times wake up, then drink, then write. We observe the regime, because We'll go to kindergarten soon. We wake up at 8.00, during the day we sleep from 14.00 to 15.30, and in the evening at 22.00 we hang up. Falling asleep is difficult. Before falling asleep, he will again drink a hundred times, and pee a hundred times. ”

“He falls asleep for a long time, spins, cannot relax, all the time he thinks up - now to drink, then to the potty. then something else ... mother's presence is necessary. and the process takes an hour or more.


If a child wants to get up and go to the toilet, how can we prevent this?

Remember, as Carlson said, “It’s a matter of life!”, And such evening getting out of bed turns into an important part of the ritual of falling asleep.

If you regularly allow your child to get out of bed, you thereby do not allow him to tune in to sleep, relax, enter a peaceful and harmonious state from which you can easily and quickly fall asleep.

Running, looking, doing something, the child accumulates tension inside himself, which will lead to disturbing sleep.

Rule: We do everything BEFORE going to bed! If we lay down, we don't get up again!

  1. The child often wakes up at night.

From mom's letters:

“My daughter often wakes up at night, 5-6 times, sometimes she can not sleep for 40 minutes - an hour, she just lies, constantly spinning, especially in the morning (from 4 in the morning). To fall asleep, you need to take your mother's hands in yours, or so that your mother touches her cheek with her cheek and pumps her up in the crib or asks to go to bed with her parents.

Nocturnal waking very often can persist until 5-7 years of age. And in a number of studies completely different data are published on the topic - when can a child sleep all night without waking up?

There can be many reasons why a child wakes up at night: there is a disturbed daily routine, poor health, and a full bladder.

To solve this issue, you need to approach the analysis of a child’s sleep in a complex way, looking for the cause and be ready to work to eliminate it!

It is important to understand that the child can be helped to sleep soundly. And if you do not do this, then the problem will not disappear anywhere. Perhaps the child will outgrow it, and perhaps not!

Rule: Nighttime awakenings always have a reason! We analyze the day and eliminate the possible causes of poor sleep at night!

  1. The child refuses to sleep during the day.

All children sooner or later stop sleeping during the day. However, we must understand that daytime sleep is an opportunity for the child's body to gain strength in order to hold out until the evening.

Excessive stress during the day will always lead to a disturbing, poor night's sleep with frequent awakenings.

“The results of a new study from the University of Colorado may be a wake-up call for parents: daytime sleep for children is much more important than it seems at first glance.

The study shows that two-and-a-half to three-year-old children who were barely put to sleep during the day are more anxious, less joyful, inquisitive and independent in solving their problems, according to Professor Monique LeBourjois, who conducted the study.

A child may try to give up naps at a very early age, but you can always tell by their behavior that the baby is not yet ready to be on his feet all day.

Evening whims, poor appetite, lethargy, absent-mindedness are signs that you need to keep and restore the child’s sleep during the day.

Rule: We try our best to keep daytime sleep up to 6-7 years! The course How to quickly put a child to sleep will help you understand the issues of sleep of a grown child. >>>

  1. The child falls asleep only if there is an adult next to him.


It seems that you can’t call this a problem - it’s quite understandable children’s need to go to sleep in safety conditions. I think that it is more pleasant for you to sleep feelings next to your beloved husband, and not in a dark, cold room, alone.

On the other hand, as the child grows older, we feel an inner desire to become more free, independent, to be able to sit and mind our own business, and at least watch a movie with my husband, without interrupting the constant children's “Mom, help me!”, “Mom, give me this…”

If a child does not know how to fall asleep on his own, but falls asleep next to you, then every time he goes into a light sleep, his brain will scan the space with the question “Am I safe now?” And if he realizes that the conditions under which he fell asleep have changed (there is no mom, dad, bottle, titi, etc. nearby), anxiety arises and ... the child wakes up!

This is how our psyche works!

Rule: As the child grows older, we try to reduce our help in the process of falling asleep to a minimum!

And remember, the solution to any sleep problem is Possible!

One of the most important conditions for the full development of any baby is a sound, deep and restful sleep. However, sometimes parents face certain difficulties in the process of putting the child to bed. They cannot understand why the child does not fall asleep well in the evening. In particular, it can be difficult to put very young children into the crib.

If a child does not fall asleep well at night, this happens due to certain reasons. Usually they are divided into physiological, psychological and domestic. Physiological causes reflect the health of the baby. But everyday and psychological ones are the result of incorrect actions of adult family members. True, in preschoolers they may appear due to the peculiarities of the development of the psyche in a given period. So, consider what prevents the child from falling asleep quickly.

Why is it difficult for a child to fall asleep?

In the life of many parents there was such a moment when they wondered why their baby suddenly began to fall asleep badly in the evenings. Despite the fact that with daytime sleep everything is in order. Here are some options for good reasons why a child does not fall asleep at night.

  • The most banal and obvious reason is that the baby simply does not want to sleep.
  • The most popular reason is confusion with night and day. In order to prevent its occurrence, it is necessary literally from the first day of a newborn's life to adhere to a certain regimen. It is also very important that the child can independently feel the difference between day and night. The day should be spent quite actively. At night, it is highly undesirable to tell or read fairy tales, sing songs, turn on the lights. Even from diapers, the child should realize that at night it is necessary to behave very calmly and quietly, and it is better to sleep at all.
  • Some see the reason for poor sleep in the fact that almost no one swaddles children today (such a need has disappeared with the advent of disposable diapers). During the day, the baby receives large amounts of information, and his immature nervous system is not yet able to process it completely. Because of this, he can make chaotic movements with his legs and arms, which periodically wake him up.
  • When a three-month-old baby began to fall asleep badly at night, he is probably worried about colic. The peak of this trouble just falls on this period.
  • If the child is hungry, thirsty, or something is bothering him, he will not fall asleep quickly. Healthy sleep will come only after satisfaction of his needs.
  • The state of his mother - emotional and psychological - can also affect the speed of falling asleep for a baby. An unsatisfactory state (mother is tired, depressed, or her mood has deteriorated), negatively affects the sleep of the crumbs.
  • The presence of any factor causing discomfort (dirty diaper, wet diapers, and so on).
  • The level of illumination and noise. The child does not fall asleep well due to excessively loud sounds (conversation, music, TV) or too bright light.
  • Excessive physical activity and violent emotions before going to bed. In the evening, the baby should be calm. Overexcitation is one of the causes of difficulty falling asleep.

If the child does not fall asleep well, and you do not know what to do, since you have already tried everything possible, you should consult a doctor. This should be done immediately if sleep problems recur for a long time, the baby behaves restlessly and cries. In this case, the presence of a neurological pathology can be suspected.

Psychological reasons

Children cannot fall asleep for a long time for other reasons, which are combined into the category of psychological. Chief among them are night terrors and various nightmares. Many kids are afraid of the dark, loneliness, scary fairy-tale characters, the loss of loved ones. What can parents do in this case? First of all, the child needs to be calmed down. Then you should ask him what exactly scared him so much. When the baby shares what he is afraid of at the moment, you can tell him where the fear comes from and draw it together. After that, the drawing must defiantly be torn up, as if destroying what frightened the son or daughter. As a rule, such joint efforts are quite enough to achieve a positive result. However, if fears continue to regularly annoy the child, because of which he tries in every possible way to delay going to bed, it is worth going to the doctor with him.

One of the weighty reasons for the inexplicable whims of the child while putting him to bed lies in the peculiarities of the development of his psyche. This is the so-called crisis of 3 years of age, due to the increase in independence.

Note that in a baby, the desire to become independent usually occurs at 2-3 years. At this time, relationships with adult family members are formed in a new way. The child already has some, albeit very small, life experience. Increased curiosity and mobility. He wants more independence in his actions, and also demands that his opinion be taken into account. Often, such changes in the behavior of the baby are accompanied by an unconscious protest against the intervention of adults in his life. This protest is expressed in prolonged falling asleep.

If parents do not allow the baby to be independent at all and continue to fully dress, undress, wash and put him to bed themselves, tantrums and whims before going to bed will not take long.

To eliminate the problem of falling asleep at night associated with this cause, parents should consult a psychologist. He will tell you how to act correctly in a given situation.

How to help your baby fall asleep faster

There are a number of simple rules, the observance of which will help the child quickly and soundly fall asleep at night. The main thing is to arm yourself with patience and tune in to a positive result.

If you strictly observe the regime of wakefulness and sleep, as well as competently organize all regime processes, this will help get rid of children's whims.

When the baby doesn't sleep well

If the baby is breastfed, a close relationship with the mother is extremely important for him. And emotional and psychological as well. When the mother is calm and balanced, the child will also be calm. If she has a bad mood or she is overexcited, this is transmitted to the baby. And in this state, he is definitely not up to sleep. So, in order for the child to fall asleep quickly and soundly, parents need to work on their emotional state.

In addition, it is necessary to monitor the organization of the baby's free time. When he is awake, it is advisable to engage him in some activity. Also, do not forget about physical activity. Pick them according to the age of the crumbs. It can be regular exercise or swimming in the bathroom. However, all this should be done only during the day. Toward evening, it is impossible to overload the baby with impressions and activity. Physically, he will want to rest, but the overload of the nervous system will not allow him to fall asleep quickly.

Go out with your baby for a walk in the fresh air more often. Walking has a positive effect on the child's psyche, helps the baby develop harmoniously and significantly improves the quality of sleep.

If it is difficult for a child to fall asleep due to colic tormenting him, the mother urgently needs to adjust her diet and delete foods that increase gas formation from it. And the baby - give the drug prescribed by the pediatrician. When the baby is awake due to teething, you can try to reduce discomfort by massaging the gums or using a special anesthetic gel.

It is very good to create your own sleep ritual. For example, putting your baby to bed after taking a cool bath. If there are no allergic reactions, you can add 3-4 drops of lavender essential oil to the bath. It has a calming effect.

As already mentioned, the conditions in which children go to bed are also important. Loud noises, bright lights and other irritants should be avoided. The room should be ventilated and sufficiently humidified.

And finally

If the child suddenly began to fall asleep for a long time, do not immediately take him to the doctor. First you need to try to find out the reason yourself. Indeed, in infants, with a high degree of probability, such a problem occurs due to cutting teeth or colic. The only way to help the baby in this case is an anesthetic gum gel purchased at a pharmacy or a tummy massage.

If the child is already 2 years old, it is recommended to analyze his regimen. It is possible that a full-fledged sleep will be restored after its correction. Children's doctors advise to paint a schedule and see where the mistake is made.

In many cases, the afternoon nap is to blame, after which the baby goes to bed later than usual, sleeps for a long time and, of course, does not want to fit into the scheduled time.

The main thing is to detect the cause of the child's prolonged falling asleep and inadequate sleep in time and take appropriate measures. After all, healthy sleep is an integral part of the health of the baby as a whole.

With the advent of a baby in the family, parents have many questions and situations that they do not know how to deal with. The first months pass quietly. Most of the time, the baby sleeps and eats. Many psychologists call this period the “golden time” for young moms and dads. Time passes, and children need to learn about the world around them, to develop. Daytime sleep already takes no more than 5-6 hours a day. And at an older age, children even have enough 2-hour rest.

For many parents, the issue that the child does not fall asleep well at night is so acute that it leads to huge scandals in the family. How to act in such a situation, we will learn in the article.

A few words about baby sleep

It is worth noting that a newborn is able to sleep for almost a day. This is natural and due to the physiological needs of the body. The process of childbirth for babies is quite a difficult job, after which a well-deserved rest is required. Also, the brain must process and cope with the information that comes to it in huge streams. As a rule, at this time, parents do not have problems with motion sickness of the baby. It is enough to give him a bottle of formula or a breast, and he will instantly fall asleep.

Do not be afraid if you see that in a dream the child shudders, waves his arms and legs. considered active (rather than passive, as is customary in adults). There is no need to immediately consult a doctor and do an ultrasound of the fontanel, just wait a bit, and everything will return to normal.

If at such an early age the child does not fall asleep well at night, then the parents are doing something wrong. Perhaps the baby is malnourished, he does not have enough breast milk. If it turns out that the reason is not food, try changing the brand of diapers. There is a chance that the baby feels discomfort. Remember: a baby who is 1 week old needs fresh air. Daytime walks are mandatory, they not only help strengthen the immune system, stimulate appetite, but also improve sleep.

Why did the baby stop sleeping?

Many parents do not understand why they fall asleep badly at night. At the same time, as a rule, there are no complaints about daytime sleep. Leading pediatricians say that during this period the baby should fall asleep quite well, since he spends most of his time in this state. The following are situations that can affect this process:

    Perhaps one of the most popular reasons at this age is that the child has confused night and day. Such situations occur all the time. To prevent this from happening, try to develop a certain regimen from the first days of the baby's life. It is also important to make the child understand the difference between the time of day. Let the day pass actively, during feeding let him listen to calm music, talk affectionately with the child. At night, you should not turn on the lights, tell fairy tales, and so on. From the cradle, the baby should understand that at night it is worth behaving quietly and calmly, sleeping.

    Another mistake is not to swaddle the baby when falling asleep. During the day, the child receives a lot of information, the nervous system cannot yet cope with it in full, so the baby can randomly move his arms and legs, thereby waking himself up.

    If a child (3 months) does not fall asleep well at night, the cause may be colic, which can torment babies during this period. Massages and a warm diaper will help to cope with the problem.

It is worth paying attention to if the child does not fall asleep well for a long time. At the same time, his condition is restless, accompanied by crying and tantrums. In this case, there may be neurological health problems, you should contact your pediatrician.

How can you help your child deal with the problem?

Many parents get so tired during the day that they wait for the night as their salvation. But there are situations when the baby screams and does not fall asleep. What to do in this situation? How to properly deal with the problem? These questions can be answered by a pediatrician or First of all, you need to take into account the age characteristics of the crumbs.

    Why does the child fall asleep badly at night? 4 months is the time when a number of physiological changes occur in the body of a small crumb. Colic recedes, their place is taken by problems with the teeth. The gums swell, itch, the oral cavity is preparing to meet the first guests. Of course, this causes trouble for the baby, he becomes irritable, cries. In this case, special ointments for gums and teethers can help. They will calm the child for a while.

    Does your child (5 months) have difficulty sleeping at night? There can be many reasons, ranging from a wet diaper to a lullaby that he does not like. But it is worth considering the fact that this time period is accompanied by the active physical capabilities of the baby. He learns to crawl, roll over, sit. Nerve endings simply cannot cope with the accumulated information, so in the evening an overexcited child does not even think about sleep. To help in this situation, it is enough to give him a light massage in the evening and bathe in a warm bath with the addition of soothing herbs (mint, chamomile, lemon balm and others).

    "A child is 1 year old, does not sleep well at night, what to do and what to do?" - the main question of parents. Perhaps they incorrectly define its mode. At this age, children are able to hear and understand the words of adults. They are already consciously doing certain actions. If a child does not fall asleep well at night, try to exhaust the baby during the day, play active games, watch books, sing songs, visit playgrounds so that by the evening he does not have the strength to scream and cry. Do not forget about evening water procedures to relieve nervous tension from the baby. In this case, a healthy sleep for both the child and parents will be provided.

    If you listen to the tips outlined above, you can forever forget about the question: “Why does a child fall asleep badly at night?”

    The child is 1.5 years old, and he does not fall asleep well? We are looking for ways to solve the problem

    After a baby appears in the family, the life of parents changes dramatically. At first, he sleeps almost the whole day, then the regime seems to return to normal, and then the problems begin again. Often, mothers at a pediatrician's appointment ask the question: “Why does a child (1.5 years old) fall asleep badly at night?” The main reason is that the baby may be disturbed by the teeth. Itchy swollen gums make themselves felt.

    It is also worth noting the features of the development of children during this period. They begin to understand that the world is so interesting and entertaining that there is no time to sleep. Of course, this is not true. After all, a sleepy baby behaves simply disgustingly: he is nervous, naughty, and does not obey.

    If a child (1.5 years) does not fall asleep well at night, the most important thing is to explain to him that sleep is mandatory. Try not to fall for the tricks and shouting that the baby is used to resorting to. With the help of affection and love, soothe the baby, sing a song, give a relaxing massage, and this problem will disappear once and for all.

    Children 2-3 years old. A few words about them

    Many mothers often have a question: “What should I do if a child (2 years old) does not sleep well at night?” Doctors assure that if until this time there were no problems with sleep, then the alarm should not be sounded. The main explanation for this problem is the age characteristics of the baby, or, as psychologists say in another way, a crisis of 2-3 years.

    During this period, children become independent, clearly aware that they can manipulate the situation and their parents. The main thing is to prevent the problem from growing and put the child in his place in time, pointing out who is in charge in the family.

    Many parents, faced with the fact that a child (2 years old) does not fall asleep well at night, make a huge mistake, scolding the baby and humiliating him in every possible way. You do not need to do this, thereby you inspire the child with self-doubt and provoke him to even greater tantrums.

    The main reasons why sleep can be disturbed

    Often you can hear the question from parents: “Why does the child fall asleep badly at night?” 3 years is a period when coping with children is much more difficult than at an earlier age. It would seem that the baby has grown up, already knows how to do a lot on its own, but the problems do not become less. In this case, you need to find out the reasons why the baby at night:

    Active evening games.

    Watching cartoons.

    Late afternoon nap.

    Child psychology and physiology. Many guys after overwork have an additional surge of emotions. And instead of relaxing and falling asleep, they, on the contrary, want to have fun, run, jump.

    The child has a lot of energy that he does not spend during the day, so there are problems with falling asleep.

    Daytime sleep lasts too long. If the baby falls asleep and cannot wake up in any way, he must be awakened.

    Evening quarrel, showdown. After scandals, children are very hard to come to their senses.

    If a child does not fall asleep well both day and night, makes constant scandals, does not respond to parents, it is better to contact a pediatric neurologist.

    Time to sleep

    Before scolding children, you need to figure out if the parents are behaving correctly. After all, in many cases, when a child falls asleep badly at night, mom and dad are to blame. They need to learn the basic rules for going to bed for the baby:

      Do not arrange active games at night. This will only excite the child - it will be very difficult for him to fall asleep.

      Often there are situations when dad brings a new book or toy from work in the evening. Of course, the baby will react to this with a sea of ​​​​emotions, which will not be easy to calm down.

      Develop sleep routines. To begin with, you can read a fearless fairy tale, then bathe in warm water with fragrant foam or herbs.

      If the child is a schoolboy, you should not find out the reason for bad grades, other negative situations in the evening.

      Do not let children watch cartoons after they have gone to bed.

      If the child began to fall asleep badly at night, you can try a folk sedative: a glass of warm milk and a teaspoon of honey. This option is only suitable for those children who can control their urination well.

    Using the above tips, you can eliminate from your life the problem that the child does not fall asleep well at night.

    Never repeat someone else's mistakes

    There are wrong deeds and actions that parents do when putting their children to bed. If your child has difficulty falling asleep at night, read carefully to see if you are making the following mistakes:

    You go to bed quite late. The optimal time for rocking a child is nine ten o'clock in the evening. Remember: if the baby is overtired, he will fall asleep worse. Many doctors even recommend keeping a sleep diary.

    Remember: sleep on the move is not the norm. Accustomed from childhood to this method of motion sickness, the child will seek and demand it in the future.

    Sleep with light and music is unacceptable.

    There is no single ritual before going to bed.

Try to correct these mistakes, and the child will fall asleep without problems.

What to do if the child does not fall asleep at night? Komarovsky suggests the following:

    The most important thing is to set the right priorities in life. Of course, a healthy baby is very important, but cheerful, happy parents are the key to success and proper development of the baby.

    A mode that would suit all family members. You do not need to fully adapt to the little peanut, show who is in charge in the family.

    Children must sleep in the arena.

    No extra daytime naps.

    After the baby is 6 months old, he does not need night feedings.

    An active day is the key not only to health, but also to good sleep.

    The optimal temperature regime in the room where the child sleeps is 16 -19 degrees.

    Properly equipped bed. There should be no soft beds and feather pillows. Orthopedic mattress - required.

    Use proven diapers so that the baby does not get wet at night.

If you follow these rules, you can forever forget about the problem of sleep sickness of the baby.

Briefly about the main

If your baby has trouble falling asleep at night, you do not need to immediately run to the doctor. It is important to find out the reason for what happened. Perhaps he is worried about colic and cutting teeth. In this case, a tummy massage and a special gum gel will help. If the child has grown up, and there can be no such problems, it is worth considering and analyzing the daily routine. Perhaps it needs to be corrected. Pediatricians recommend making a schedule and finding out where you made a mistake. In most cases, the nap is to blame. The kid goes to bed late, sleeps for a long time and, of course, does not want to go to bed in the evening.

Create a comfortable environment for the child. The first point is temperature. The room should not be stuffy or too hot. Many pediatricians claim that the maximum allowable mark is 22 degrees. Do not forget to ventilate the room, 5 minutes is enough.

“Why does the child fall asleep badly at night?” - perhaps this is a question that at least once in a lifetime worried every parent. In fact, there can be many reasons, ranging from age-related changes occurring in the body, and ending with nervous disorders.

Sleep is very important for a small child, as it helps a growing body to rest. However, parents often face a situation where the baby falls asleep heavily, is naughty, and cries in the crib.

As a result, we have sleepy children and tired mothers. What to do if the baby tosses and turns for a long time before going to bed, and how to help him fall asleep?

Even if the baby is tired during the day, his eyes stick together, he still stubbornly struggles with drowsiness and refuses to "go into rest mode."

Some children, on the contrary, become even more active and begin to rush around the apartment. To calm down, they need the help of their parents.

However, you first need to know the exact cause. The sources of such insomnia are individual for each baby, but we will name the most typical ones.

Why does a child fall asleep with whims?

It must be remembered that difficulties with falling asleep do not arise from scratch. They signal the presence of any diseases, violation of the regimen and lifestyle of the baby.

That is, if the baby does not sleep from birth, perhaps the reason for this is poor health.

But if the children always fell asleep quickly, and then for no apparent reason refuse to go to bed, the point here is most likely a change in the daily routine.

That is why it is so important to find the reason why the child has difficulty falling asleep at night.

  1. If the baby plays out before laying down, shows high motor activity, then with a high degree of probability his imperfect nervous system will “overload”. Of course, in such a state, a long and sound sleep is out of the question.
  2. Carefully monitor how long it lasts and when your child's daytime rest begins. If the baby goes to bed, for example, at 15.00, and not at 13.00, sleeps a lot during the day, then there is too little time left before night sleep, and therefore there are difficulties with falling asleep.
  3. Eating and fast bedtime are closely related to each other. If the baby is put to bed on an empty stomach, he will not be able to sleep because of the feeling of hunger. And if he falls asleep hungry, he will wake up in the middle of the night and start crying.
  4. If, on the contrary, the baby overeats at dinner, the feeling of heaviness will not allow him to fall asleep. Babies will suffer from colic, and older children will have nightmares.
  5. Another cause of difficulty falling asleep is malaise - high fever, abdominal pain, headache. And the baby can cut teeth.
  6. Young children are keenly aware of the emotional state of the mother. Frequent scandals in the family, quarrels and screams lead to emotional excitability, one of the manifestations of which is difficulty falling asleep.
  7. High or low air temperature in the children's room, insufficient humidity are often the reason that the baby does not fall asleep well in the evening.
  8. Excessively bright light of a night lamp or, on the contrary, pitch darkness do not allow children to fall asleep and are another common reason for waking up at night.
  9. The baby is not active during waking hours or his physical activity is minimal. Agree, a one and a half year old baby who has walked a certain distance with his legs on an evening walk will fall asleep much faster than a butuz who has sat all the time in a stroller.
  10. In the end, children can fall asleep for a very long time if they have an interesting toy with which they have not played enough and do not want to part even at night.

The baby does not fall asleep well at night - what to do?

It is important to remember that when breastfeeding, the calmness and patience of the mother herself is necessary for the baby to fall asleep.

The connection is obvious: the mother is excited or upset - the child also begins to worry. What a deep sleep! So, the first step to falling asleep quickly is a positive emotional mood of the parents.

  1. In addition, take a closer look at the organization of the leisure time of the baby. While awake, try to keep him busy with some kind of active activity. Don't forget about age-appropriate physical activity - exercising, perhaps swimming in the bath.
  2. But do not overdo it - you can not load the baby in the evening with excessive impressions or offer him outdoor games. It seems to be physically tired, but the overloaded nervous system does not allow you to sleep peacefully.
  3. Try to spend more time outdoors with your child. Such walks have a positive effect on the psyche, help harmonious development and significantly improve children's sleep.
  4. If the child is having a hard time falling asleep due to colic, urgently review your own menu and get rid of foods that cause increased gas formation. So, the use of cow's milk by mother often leads to problems with the tummy of the newborn. Give preference to dairy products.
  5. If it's teething, try massaging your gums to relieve the pain, or buy special pain relief gels.
  6. Create your own bedtime ritual. For example, tuck into bed after taking a cool bath. If there is no allergy, add a few drops of lavender oil to the water, which has a calming effect.
  7. Do not underestimate the conditions in which you put your children to bed. Eliminate loud noises, bright lights and other irritants. Ventilate and, if possible, humidify the room in which the baby sleeps. Remember that carpets, bedside canopies are not desirable in a children's interior, as they are dust collectors.

Helping children ages 1 and older fall asleep at night

As you grow older, some problems are replaced by others. So, in children from three to six years, the most common cause of sleep disturbances are fears and nightmares.

Thus, it is the emotional prerequisites for difficult falling asleep that come to the fore.

  1. Eliminate before falling asleep any factors that lead to overexcitation of the nervous system. Noisy activities, watching TV, going to crowded places - this can excite the baby and prevent him from falling asleep.
  2. Resolve all conflicts well before bedtime. Do not scold the child, and even more so do not use disciplinary measures before bedtime. Postpone unpleasant conversations and showdown until the morning, or better yet, forget about them. The fewer irritants, the easier it is for children to fall asleep.
  3. If your child has a fear of the dark, explain that the baby is safe. Install a night lamp in the room, get rid of unnecessary noise, buy blackout curtains, in general, create a calm atmosphere. Sit next to the baby while he falls asleep.
  4. Also try to offer your baby a soft toy that he can put in his crib. Explain that a plush friend will protect the baby from bad dreams.

If your child does not sleep well at night, remember that your main task is to remain calm, patient and love your little cranky baby.

Only in this case a good sleep is guaranteed for the whole family!