Tis the season for daylight savings, shorter days and longer nights, and every parent knows that even the slightest change to the schedule can throw off your child’s bedtime routine. 5 Little Monkeys has poured our hearts into studying children’s sleep patterns, habits, and needs, in order to create our sleep system, and the best mattress for kids. Today we’d like to share our knowledge with tips to help establish the best fall and winter sleep routine for your child.
1)Try to Keep it On Track
The easiest way to reinforce a healthy bedtime routine, any time of year, is by being consistent. Your child will grasp the pattern and begin to enjoy the way it helps structure each daIt is important to develop a solid bedtime routine and stick with it! If here is no consistency with the time or place your child falls sleep, then bedtime becomes confusing making it more difficult for you to enforce. As a parent, maintaining your own routine alongside your child can feel like an obligation, but it is so helpful. Remember, children model after their parents!
2) Let School Set a Structure
For most of fall and winter, school is in full swing! Now that it gets dark early, sometimes even before your school-aged kids get home, the responsibilities that come with school can help your child maintain their routine despite the wonky daylight hours. Setting timers for homework, dinner, and bedtime can provide this structure.
3) Get a Lamp that Mimics Sunshine
Limited daylight hours during fall and winter can not only take a toll on routine, but also emotional health. If you live in a particularly gloomy climate, your child might experience a dip in their mood around this time of year, which can make it hard to get out of bed in the morning, may affect their day, and cause stress or restlessness at night. Lamps that mimic sunlight like this one may brighten your child’s mood and help regulate their schedule, just turn it off an hour or two before bedtime.
4) Don’t Let the Holidays Disrupt Too Much
Holidays can be an attractive excuse to stay up late, but it is important that the youngest kids stick to their bedtime routine as closely as possible. Consider shifting some festivities to earlier in the day so the kids can participate, and still be snug as a bug in a rug by the time the grown ups bring out the eggnog.
5) Invest in a Better Sleep System
The foundation of every healthy sleep routine is the right sleep environment, including a hypoallergenic mattress, mattress protector, and pillow engineered to support growing bodies. 5 Little Monkeys has designed a sleep system that makes bedtime a positive and revitalizing experience for little ones. Try it risk free today, or contact us to find out more.