A good night’s rest is incredibly important for growth, development and overall well-being, but nobody likes to fight bedtime more than kids. If getting your child to sleep is a challenge, read on for tips on making the transition to bedtime easier (and many of these work for adults too!)

Getting Your Child to Sleep Easier

Putting your child to bed is often the easy part. The hard part is getting them to stay there and actually go to sleep! We gathered several tips to help you win the bedtime battle.

Establish a Bedtime Routine

This is one of the tips that is recommended for everyone. Establishing a consistent bedtime routine helps signal your brain that it’s time to wind down and prepare for sleep.

This routine should start about 30-60 minutes before bedtime and can include activities such as a warm bath, reading a bedtime story, brushing teeth, putting on pajamas and prepping for sleep time.

Dressing for Bed

Sleepwear also plays a significant role in ensuring your child sleeps well. Choosing the right sleepwear involves considering comfort, safety, and practicality. Cotton pajamas for kids are a popular choice due to their softness, breathability, and hypoallergenic properties.

Ensuring the sleepwear fits well but isn’t too tight allows freedom of movement, and choosing fun designs featuring your child’s favorite characters can make bedtime more appealing.

And sometimes, your child may prefer to sleep in their own clothes, and that’s ok too. My son usually prefers to sleep in a t-shirt and soft shorts, and sometimes that happens to be what he wears the next day. I can say it does save us some time with him already dressed in the morning!

Setting the Stage for Sleep

Creating a good sleep environment plays an important role in not only getting your child to sleep but keeping them asleep. Do this by:

• Making it dark with blackout curtains or blinds.
• Using a sound machine with white noise to drown out disruptive sounds.
• Making sure they have a comfortable bed and mattress.
• Lowering the thermostat to keep the room cool. Most articles recommend 60-67 degrees Fahrenheit, but we usually set ours at 71 and that strikes a nice balance between cool and not freezing.

Limiting Screen Time

Limiting screen time before bed is another important factor. The blue light emitted by screens can interfere with the production of melatonin, a hormone that regulates sleep.

Turning off all screens, including TVs, tablets, and phones, at least an hour before bedtime can help your child fall asleep more easily. Encouraging alternative activities like reading, drawing, or playing with quiet toys can provide a soothing transition to bedtime.

If your child does use electronics close to bedtime, you can change the settings on most devices to nighttime mode that cuts the blue light and changes the screen to a reddish shade. Alternatively, you can have your child wear blue-light blocking glasses when using devices.

Try Aromatherapy for Relaxation

Lavender is well known for its relaxation inducing properties, and it’s easy to incorporate into your child’s evening bath. I usually add a few drops of lavender essential oil to my son’s bath, but you can also find a lot of children’s bath products that are already scented with lavender.

Sometimes I even sprinkle a few drops under his pillow! I find the scent very relaxing and often do this to my own bed as well.

Monitor Diet and Hydration

Limiting sugary foods and drinks, especially in the afternoon and evening, and providing well-balanced meals with a variety of nutrients can support overall health and sleep. Ensuring your child stays hydrated throughout the day while avoiding large amounts of fluids close to bedtime can prevent nighttime awakenings.

Help Ease Nighttime Fears

Addressing sleep anxiety and fears with understanding and reassurance is important. Allowing your child to sleep with a favorite stuffed animal or blanket, using a nightlight if they are afraid of the dark, and spending a few minutes talking about their day or any worries they have can provide comfort and reassurance.

We use a sound machine with a light projector, so the white noise blocks out any weird sounds he might hear and the light projects pictures of sea creatures on his walls and ceiling.

Getting Your Child to Sleep Can be Easier

By implementing these strategies, you can help your child develop healthy sleep habits that will benefit them throughout their life. A good night’s sleep is crucial for their physical and mental development, and by prioritizing sleep, you’re setting your child up for success. With patience and consistency, bedtime battles can become a thing of the past, and restful nights will become the norm.

And if all else fails, I do occasionally resort to children’s melatonin. That will always get my son to sleep pretty fast, but it’s not something you want to give them every night. In the long run, developing healthy sleeping habits is your best course of action when waging the bedtime wars.