5. How to help your child sleep during special occasions

7/3/2020

Do your children have bad sleep when they are sick? Do your children wake up screaming and saying they have a nightmare? Do your children have hard time in sleeping when traveling or moving?

When children have special needs or families are going through changes, parents may face more challenges to make their children fall asleep. Today I will share some tips to comfort your children when special sleep situations happened.

Children often have difficulties in sleeping when they are sick.They feel more pain or discomfort when they are alone in the dark. When sick, children often cling to their favorite source of comfort and healing. Children will get well much more quickly when the parent sleeps close to them. It’s the therapeutic healing power of touch.

Children are most likely to have nightmares between the ages of two and five. Young children are not yet capable of distinguishing fantasy from reality. Touches and soothing voices from parents will help children go through fear and go back to sleep when they have nightmare strikes. Parents may tell their children those are just “pictures in the brain”. It is going to help children to understand dreams are not real. Parents might also need to minimize scary daytime experiences, play soothing music during the night, and provide a secure sleeping environment.

Children are creatures of habits and routines, and these are disrupted when they travel. In travel, trying to stay with your bedtime routine and bring something to make them feel home, such as their “lovee” or blanket. If you are going to travel somewhere with a different time zone, plan ahead, and let your children adjust bedtime and awakening time days before your trip.

When moving, it can be stressful for the whole family. It’s usually not a good time to make major changes in the sleeping routine, because children will need you more during the night than before. However, this might be an opportunity to introduce them to their own rooms. Just don’t expect them to sleep there until they feel safe and secure in new surroundings.

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