Best ideas to keep your child comfortable at night
Beyond question, a comfortable and relaxing night is crucial to the overall well-being of every child. An essential thumb rule is that kids with great sleeping habits have better and improved physical and mental health, and comfort is the ingredient to good sleep. To achieve a relaxing night, parents must strike a balance between comfort and luxury. It is one thing to be in soft, warm, and cosy nightwear and another to flaunt in a cute, unsafe little boy and baby girl clothes.
So, how do you achieve comfort for your baby at night? Here are 5 best ideas to keep your child tucked up in comfort every nightfall.
1. Create a Relaxing Bedtime Routine
Children thrive in routines. Preparing your baby for a night’s sleep is crucial for their rest and comfort, which is what a bedtime routine is all about. With a sleep routine, your child is able to differentiate between daytime activities and night habits.
A good bedtime routine should have comfort-promoting activities, such as a warm shower, teeth brushing, and storytelling.
Always keep electronic gadgets away from your baby at least an hour before bed. This should help them have sufficient time to unwind before sleeping.
2. Dress Your Baby for Comfort
Basically, for warmth and comfort, your child should always be in an extra layer of clothing than you would wear at night. This is more applicable for rooms with ideal temperatures for babies, ranging from 68 to 72°F (or 20-22°C).
With that in mind, you can go for baby girl clothes and teeny-tiny outfits for boys recommended for the night. These include cotton onesies, sleep sacks, sleepsuits, and cotton pyjamas.
3. Create a Relaxing, Sleep Environment
Your baby’s sleep environment should naturally promote sleep, rest, and calmness. In addition to dressing up appropriately, ensure that your child’s sleeping surface is sufficient to support their spine.
Also, keep your baby’s room cool, quiet, and dark (or at least have some little light). This helps enhance a distinction between day and night for your child.
If your child has homework to complete, they should never use their sleeping rooms for such assignments.
Most importantly, keep electronic devices away from your child’s sleeping room. These include phones, computers, televisions, tablets, and digital screens. This prevents your child from switching on the screens when they cannot fall asleep.
4. Set Aside Some Time to Bond
Kids feel safer and more comfortable when you stroke their back or rock them to sleep at night. Activities like skin massaging, swaddling, going skin-to-skin, and looking into your baby’s eyes are not just for bonding. Experts recommend these bonding habits for sleep, rest, and comfort for your baby.
5. Bedtime Fading
This sleep training technique is founded on the concept that children develop better sleep patterns when they are sleepier during bedtime. Taking your baby to bed when they are less sleepy only increases their struggle to fall asleep.
Realign your established bedtime clock with their cardiac rhythm using bedtime fading. With this strategy, kids become more relaxed as sleeping does not appear to be an enforced activity.