Parenting Decoded: Sleep Like A Baby
Wee Willie Winkie runs through the town,
Up stairs and down stairs in his night-gown,
Tapping at the window, crying at the lock,
Are the children in their bed, for it’s past eight o’clock?
Wait, is it 9 o’clock or 10 o’clock or much later than that in your house? Or does your little one not care a hoot about Willie Winkie and his late night escapades? Is your child’s sleep routine (or the lack of it) becoming the bane of your existence? Or are you one of those lucky ones *touchwood* who manage to put the child to sleep in no time?
On World Sleep Day today, we decided to dig into our old posts and see what contributors have had to say about children and sleep. Here it is!
1.Dealing with a sleepless baby
Aditi Mathur’s baby G came up with every excuse to avoid sleep that a toddler can possibly come up with. She made every effort to keep her sanity in check but eventually resigned and made peace with her little one’s aversion to long sleep hours.
2. Doctor says so
Peaditricians are inundated with questions from new parents about how much, when, where and how should their baby sleep. The converse is also true. Parents also demand to know why their child sleeps for so long and how to wake him up. Read Dr. Chandar Asrani’s post on children and their sleep patterns.
3. Find out why babies don’t sleep
Mother of two grown up daughters and now grandmom to a little one, Sunita Rajwade thinks that those who claim that their baby sleeps without any hiccups are either lucky, are lying, or make babies sleep in another room or with a nanny.
4. When lullabies don’t work
Aloka Gambhir, the Wholesome Mamma of two says that babies only want to be held, played with and carried around. We adults expect them to adjust with our busy schedules. We put all our efforts in making babies sleep the entire night but it is in vain. It will happen when it has to.
5. No surprises please!
All of us love to stay comfortable in a routine. Even if one day in our life goes haphazard as against to what was planned, we panic. Sirisha Achanta says the same applies to sleep routines of little ones. There has to be a daily pattern in timing and technique of putting a child to sleep.
Can we safely say that the child’s sleep is the second most important concern for parents universally. First one, of course is food! 😉 How do you put your child to sleep? Do you have a sleep story to tell? Share with us in the comments below. And yes, Happy World Sleep Day to you. May your child sleep well today and always! 🙂
