How to Let Baby Sleep at Night

We have a beautiful Collie-Labrador, who is just a happy dog. Last night, round midnight, just after wed brought her to her bed, she started to cry, a soft whimpering sound, almost like a child crying. My inclination was to go check on her was her mat wet because it had rained, or maybe she was scared or cold. Jim, my husband grumbled, half-asleep, don’t go. Whether you are a parent to a newborn child or a full-size Collie-Labrador, its pretty much the same scenario. Whats the best way to react when they start crying at night? Jim’s right actually because our dog is super intelligent, so much so that I think shes almost human. If we had let her inside to sleep at the foot of the bed, guarantee it, shed be back the next day, trying to crawl her way into our bed.

Now, I remember, a few years back, my cousins wife, when she had her first child, took what I thought at the time, a rather unusual approach to napping. We had all just sat down to dinner, when the baby, who’d just been put into her cot for a nap, started crying. Angela just let her daughter literally bawl for 15 minutes solid until she finally fallen asleep. Angela explained that didn’t want to pick up her daughter to soothe her or hush her when she cried.

Here are 5 pointers for how to establish healthy sleep habits:

1: Look at how your child operates during the day. If he or she wakes up full of energy and fall asleep during the day, the chances are your child is getting the sleep they need.

2: Ensure everyone is getting enough regular exercise and eating healthy Exercise is vital for proper restful sleep and good health in general. Cut down on the sugar consumption. You actually want to try cut sugar out completely after mid-afternoon.

3: Have a fixed bedtime (and wake-up time) Children like the security a regular sleep routine provides. Be firm. They’ll get used to it!

4: Start winding down an hour before bedtime. That means turning the television or computer games off, and taking out a good book or putting on some relaxing music. This time can be your bonding time, where everyone sits on the sofa in their pajamas and talks about whats going on.

5: Check on the noise and brightness levels. Some children fall asleep as soon as their head hits the pillow. Others will be distracted by the glowing display on the alarm clock.

Sleep problems are often due to bad habits, but they can be dealt with a level of discipline. Just a word of caution, never give your child prescription sleeping pills.