Does your child struggle to fall or stay asleep each night? Kids are no different from adults when it comes to sleep concerns; they can face similar issues such as insomnia. As a parent, it’s your responsibility to solve your child’s bedtime issues. Here are four solutions for your child’s sleep problems.
Curing Insomnia
Approximately seven out of every 10 kids under the age of 10 experience difficulty sleeping at some point. Parents have a tendency to under react to issues like insomnia, though. They believe that such troubles will eventually go away without direct intervention. That’s not always the case. Insomnia can be symptomatic of much graver conditions such as ADHD, autism, and depression.
If your child has difficulty sleeping for more than a few days, you should take him or her to a pediatrician. Sometimes acute symptoms and illnesses, such as congestion or ear infections, are responsible for disruptions in children’s sleep patterns. Your pediatrician can make sure there are no underlying conditions causing the temporary sleep disruption and prescribe medication if needed.
Monsters Under the Bed
Despite Pixar’s best effort to humanize scary monsters, kids still fear closets and that dark space under the bed. Convincing them that nothing is going to harm them isn’t easy. One of the fundamental aspects of anxiety is that it’s illogical. At some point, your child is going to resist being alone when you turn the lights off and ask them to go to sleep.
What’s your next move? The key to helping your children overcome a basic fear is to arm them with knowledge. No matter how many times you tell them nothing is under the bed, they won’t believe you. Should you give them a flashlight, however, they can do their own nightly investigation. Any time a kid worries about monsters, he or she can shine a light into the darkness, helping them to understand that irrational fear is a part of life. A monster under the bed is actually a strong educational opportunity for parents.
Need for Companionship
One of the ways insomniac children try to solve their problem is by sleeping with a companion. Eventually, they’ll reach an age where a teddy bear is no longer socially acceptable or psychologically beneficial, though. At that point, your best bet is to keep their furry friend out all the time. It’ll gradually lose its reputation as a nighttime companion, thereby diminishing the fear of sleeping alone.
Invisible Allergens
One of the less obvious explanations for your child’s sleep woes is also one of the easiest to address. Indoor Air Quality {IAQ} directly impacts the health of your child. If the air quality in your home is substandard, it can cause or intensify allergy symptoms that interfere with a good night’s sleep.
To identify and solve your IAQ issue, have a certified technician check your HVAC system. Through either repair or installation of new equipment, they can service your unit in a way that will improve your child’s sleep quality.
You want your child to feel healthy and rested all the time. Follow the steps above to guarantee that any battles they have with insomnia are temporary.