How to train a baby to sleep
Sleep is very important for
your child's development. But getting your baby to sleep can be difficult.
Adults can also be tired when a child wakes up at night crying.
Children tend to cry before
going to bed. Crying is a baby's response to bedtime calming and part of early
learning. The good news is that children can be taught to fall asleep on their
own.
How should a child sleep? It
is recommended to share a room with a child until he is one year old. Sharing a
room is a good way to make sure you can comfort, feed, and look after your baby
throughout the night. You should never sleep with a baby in your bed to prevent
sudden infant death syndrome. Place your child's crib, bassinet, or play area
in your bedroom, not in a separate room.
A child under three months old
should sleep from 14 to 17 hours a day. But they cannot sleep for that long
continuously. Normally, your child should take two or three naps during the day
and sleep longer at night. Here's how to create a safe sleeping environment for
your child:
- Prepare a solid sleeping surface. Always make sure that the sheets fit snugly and that the
crib or bassinet is made to safety standards.
- Never place your baby on their stomach or
side. You should only place your
baby on their back during sleep to avoid Sudden Infant Death Syndrome.
- Avoid overheating. Never put too many clothes on your baby when you put him
to bed.
- Keep other items away from the crib or
bassinet. You should never let your
baby sleep with toys, blankets, sheepskins, duvets, blankets, loose sheets, or
protective pillows.
- Let your baby sleep with a pacifier. If it falls, don't try to put it back in your mouth.
- Do not smoke near your baby. Passive smoking can increase the risk of death in children,
especially when they are sleeping.
- Avoid dangerous objects in your baby's
crib: Always be careful of objects
such as ropes or sharp objects that could injure your baby.
Sleep training
There are various methods you
can use to get your baby to sleep. Babies can usually sleep through the night
by the time they reach sleep learning age, which is four months or older.
Babies do not have a regular
sleep pattern until they are four months old. It is recommended that you do not
start teaching your child to sleep until he reaches this age.
Below are methods you can use
to help your child sleep alone:
- “Cry it out” method: In this method, you leave your baby in their crib, and
when they cry at night, go check on them, but wait longer and longer each time
they wake up before checking on them. This helps your baby learn how to go back
to sleep by themselves when they wake up in the middle of the night.
- No tears method: In this method, you sit next to the baby's crib while he
sleeps. Then you move the chair away from the crib each time until the baby
falls asleep without crying.
- Bedtime fading method: This method involves shifting your child's sleep time by
10-15 minutes each night to get him tired before bed. When your baby falls
asleep right after you put him to bed, that time becomes his new bedtime.
What to do if sleep training
doesn't work? You should try various sleep training methods for at least two
weeks before concluding they don't work. If sleep training isn't working, you
can take a break and try again later. After that, you should talk to a
pediatrician or a professional sleep consultant to find a solution.
- Don't be afraid to let your baby cry. Listening to your baby crying and refusing to answer is
very difficult. As bad as it sounds, you're not harming your child and it won't
affect your bond.
- Don't expect your child to sleep through the night just because you taught him to sleep. Nobody sleeps all night. You are always moving in bed and sometimes you are awake. Children are no different. The purpose of sleep training is to teach your child to go back to sleep when they wake up at night.