Tips And Tricks To Put Your Restless Child To Bed

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Fun Tips And Tricks To Put Your Restless Child To Bed

We all wonder why our children just won't sleep when you want them to. We kick, scream, shout, and get outright angry (yes parents! I'm talking about you!) but this isn't the right course of action. Being a father of two wonderful daughters, with some experience, and with some research I found a few tips and tricks I'd like to share that might help putting your little one to bed. Now, these tips and tricks are not limited to just toddlers, it can work for children ages 0 to 99!

The Fluff (Skip ahead to an easy outline)

Why does my child have so much energy?

They're excited! Well at least to start. They are finally home from a long day at school or a long day with stay at home mom, dad, grandma, or daycare. They are finally happy to be with you and want your attention. Also, they are running on fumes. They're on their last tank of gas. They are firing all pistons to enjoy the rest of what little day they have left over. Don't be fooled though. They are TIRED AS HELL right now!

How can you tell your child is sleepy?

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Despite the obvious time of evening, there are some indicators. They're eyes will look tired and they'll be rubbing them. They'll be yawning, complaining, and whining. And for some reason they'll seem like they have endless amounts of energy. There are a few however who will fight it and nod as if they've pulled an all nighter working on their thesis paper. 

Give me the tips and tricks!

Traditionally we've been told rocking them to sleep, pushing the baby swing, and singing to them will knock them out. This may be true to some but sadly not all. Sometimes it's a 50/50 thing or negotiable. Here are some fun tips and tricks I've picked up. The most important thing to keep in mind is to have fun with this and that you will be creating nice memories.

Pre-sleep activities

Sometimes its difficult to get your child to stop what they are doing, so try to negotiate these activities. For example: "Let's stop watching T.V. now so we can do something fun?" or "It's time for bed but lets do this first!" This is the activity your are trading for sleep so try to sell it good and seal the deal!

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Give them a bath. This gets them nice and relaxed before bed. I would advise not washing their hair though as its not good to have them sleep with wet hair but washing their body and playing in the tub can tire them out. 

Bribe them. A good old fashion deal breaker works a good amount of times. This mostly would apply to older children unfortunately. Let them know that if they sleep now that they can have a candy or special meal in the morning. You can also promise them some T.V. or game time when they get home from school. 

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Have a pre-sleep dance party! That's right! Sometimes a pre-sleep dance party is what the doctor ordered. So the first thing you need to do is turn off the T.V., tablets, games, and/or phones then put some fun music on. You can really listen to anything you want but I would suggest something age relevant like anything from Disney or Nick Jr.

I suggest using a device like Amazon Echo or Google Home Mini but really you can use an old school radio or other similar device. You can use your phone but for adult and child alike, this can create quite a bit of temptation to check or tamper with it 😛.

Lastly, make sure you make this fun! Just randomly shout "DANCE PARTY" and begin to boogie down with your child.

Read a book. This is a healthy activity for any child. It helps with brain and speech development and if the book has a rhyme or rhythm to it can help with developing math skills. If you have a few small books you can tell your child to pick three or if its a big/long book then just one.

For best results, make sure you make the story engaging, change the voices of each character, and add sounds effects.

Tell them a story. Make it fun! It really doesn't require much imagination. To be honest I just look around the room and use what I see to formulate the characters and tasks. You can even plug your children into the story. A good way to do story telling is to get them involved too. Ask them what genre they want and go from there.

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Blanket tosses. One of my favorite things to do is what I call blanket tosses. I ask my children how
many tosses they want, tell them to lay down, then whip their blanket up and down that many times. The way you whip the blanket is gentle and flowy as if you are to throw a sheet up in the air to spread it out on a mattress or how you would shake a parachute back in elementary school. On the final blanket toss, make it a big one and make sure it floats down slowly. You can always throw in an extra one for good luck 😉.

The nice thing about blanket tosses is it get them ready for bed by allowing them to lay down and have fun while they're laying down. Then on the final blanket toss, they're getting tucked in.

Last Resorts

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Eat a heavy meal for dinner. Now, this isn't one I would suggest all the time for health reasons but eating a heavy meal can get them pretty sleepy. For children who can eat solids bread, rice, or something starchy can give them a little food-coma-ish feeling.

For children too young for solids the best meal before bed is breast milk. It's healthy, it's heavy, and it'll work. If you are really desperate you can give some formula which is pretty heavy stuff. The only bad thing is it'll make your baby gassy.

Sing to them. This isn't bad but it can get you stuck in the room. They've missed you all day and they aren't about to let you go that easy! If they're older, you can negotiate with one or two songs which works out ok. If they're infants or toddlers, you may be there for a while.

The reason this would be a last resort is because they get too used to you staying with them in the room, you can get stuck in the room, or you may just end up falling asleep with them.

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Lay down with them. Your warmth, your love, and the security they feel while your right next to them will put them right out. I would only reserve this as a final attempt only because you may end up sleeping yourself, which isn't a bad thing. Also, if you aren't planning to sleep with them it makes it really hard to get up because sometimes the slightest movement will wake them.

You've reached the end now for the easy outline. ;-)


Why does my child have so much energy? Excitement that your home and running on fumes.

How to tell they're sleepy? Rubbing the eyes, crying, yawning, complaining, nodding off.

Pre-sleep activities (tips and tricks)
  1. Give them a bath neck down
  2. Bribe them. Promise a special breakfast in the morning. Offer T.V. time after school.
  3. Pre-sleep dance party! (turn off all visual devices)
  4. Read a book or three
  5. Tell them a story
  6. Blanket Tosses (click here to read about it)
Last Resorts
  1. Eat a heavy meal. Babies can have breast milk or formula. Children can have rice or bread
  2. Sing to them
  3. Lay down with them. 



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