*** NOTE – this post is for older babies or toddlers, who have already been sleeping through the night after you’ve ruled out things like growth spurts and teething ***
My son started waking up in the middle of the night. He’d been sleeping through the night pretty consistently and all of the sudden, he started waking up almost every night.
When he woke up, he’d always say things like let’s go downstairs and play. He wanted to get up and out of bed to play. I’ve had several friends who said that they had kids the same age doing the same thing. They’d get up with their kids, turn on the TV and start watching Netflix or Hulu with their kids until the kid got sleepy two hours later.
I didn’t think that sounded like the best idea for me since I’m already working at 5 AM every morning. I didn’t need or want to get up every night and have to be up for several hours.
Here’s What I Did
When my son woke up, I’d go into his room. I’d use the most boring, least fun, and the most monotone voice I could find. I didn’t do any of the usual tickles, jokes or silly faces. His lights in his room never got turned on. Finally, I gave him a drink of water and when he asked to play I told him we’d play in the morning.
After a few days, he began to realize how boring mom was when I came into his room in the middle of the night. And believe it or not, just three or four days later, he stopped doing it. No more screaming for mom in the middle of the night.
Night Wakings Aren’t a Big Deal
I think the mistake many parents make is that when their child wakes at night they treat it like a big deal. They read books, play or doing something stimulating during the wake time.
To me, this seems silly. If I woke up, watched some TV, played games, and read a book, I wouldn’t be tired either. But if I wake up in the night and things are kept very quiet and low key, I’m usually able to get back to sleep very quickly.
So rather than trying to play games and treating the waking as a fun time, try keeping the lights dim and things really boring. Offer a cracker and some water and then put them back to bed. This will give you the greatest chance of your child going back to sleep.
If things are boring, most likely they won’t have any incentive to wake up and call you at night. After a few nights, my son stopped calling for us. I think if we had given in and played games with him, or made it fun, he might have kept waking up for a long period of time.
Sleep Is Important
I want my kids to have good sleep habits. I believe sleep is one of the most important things we can give our kids. When they’re not sleepy, they’ll learn better, and be happier during the day.
That’s why I do everything I can to get my kids as much sleep as possible. I believe sleep is one of the best parenting tools a parent can have. A well-slept child will be easier to deal with during the day and raising kids is hard enough. Make it easier on yourself by helping your kids learn good habits to help them sleep well.
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