FITNESS

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Help your child sleep well

Things you can do to help your child sleep fitfully through the night.

The National Sleep Foundation has come up with some tips to help your child sleep well at night. Some of them you already know. For example, the Foundation suggests you set a nightly routine. Ensure that children have a standard bedtime that is followed every night of the week. The Foundation recommends that you build in enogh time for them to wind down and finish the preparatory routine.

According to the Foundation, you could give your child a light snack after dinner and before bed. Though, may doctors feel that hot milk or cocoa before bed time is not a very good idea.
After your child has the snack, it's time for a bath, getting into jammies, and brushing her teeth. 

The Foundation says that a bedtime story is a good way to relax and prepare your child for sleep. Then, when your child is nearly asleep, make sure the room is quiet and dark and then leave the room. 

But, here's the kicker. The Foundation also recommends that you do not go into the child's room every time he wakes in the middle of the night. According to the Foundation, your child will begin to expect you to come to his room and will not learn to go back to sleep by himself. While this is a tenet often recommended by bestselling how-to books, many doctors feel that it's not a good idea to let your child cry themselves to sleep. 

Children do cry for a reason. Ignoring them will only make them feel abandoned. Instead, responding to their cries and comforting them is the best way to put them to sleep. Unless, of course, you have sired a calvinesque monster! Somehow, I don't think comforting him is the best way to put him to sleep.

Here is our list of some other things you can do and those you must not, to help your child sleep well:

1) Play some soft, soothing music. Many children find music or even lullabies a soothing way of drifting off.

2) Do not ever give sleeping tablets or any alcohol to children who tend to be too wide awake to fall asleep at night.

3) You can rub your child's forehead or give a gentle massage. This is a sure-shot way of inducing sleep.

4) Ensure that your child has had adequate exercise during the day. Children who spend enough time playing or running around tend to sleep more fitfully.

5) Ensure that the room is well-ventilated and is at a suitable temperature. A room that is too hot or too cold or just plain stuffy is uncomfortable and hinders sleep.

And, finally, don't forget to be affectionate to your child. Cuddles, kisses, and hugs make children feel secure and reassured. No worries usually translates into a sound sleep.