Do You Make These Sleep Mistakes with Your Children?

I am sure we all agree that few things are more beautiful to see than a sleeping child. Moreover, nothing is as mysterious as a sleeping child. Sleep is an essential, primitive function of our body and is as important to the maintenance and well being of our life as nutrition. While your child is sleeping, a kind of refueling process is in the works, something like an inspection and repair of their entire being, especially the nervous system. But no one knows exactly how this inspection and repair process works. Experts tell us sleep is just a behavior, like talking, walking, laughter, and so on.

By observing your children while they are asleep, you will begin to notice different sleeping behaviors as they age from new born infant through their toddler stage and on up. Your six month old child will look as if they are working hard at staying asleep. While a one year old they appear to be so relaxed and poured into their sleep that even you envy their perfect repose. The three year old relaxes deeply during their night time slumber as the surface of their sensitive face reflects with expression of the dreams that amuse and plague them as they play through their mind.

One child needs lot of sleep, while another requires relatively little. Your children's ways of falling asleep and waking up are as varied as their ways of staying asleep. It's this business of going to sleep that most often presents the greatest problem for most parents. Surprising there is a number of mistakes that parents make when attempting to get their children to go to sleep. Here are a few of the most common mistakes that are made. Do you make these mistakes when trying to get your child to go to sleep?

Many parents let their child go to bed later than their usual bed time, believing it will make them sleep later. This often backfires. When your child is over tired, they have a much more difficult time settling down and relaxing. They will also generally wake up more often during the night, reducing the amount of sleep they actually get. If they have a regular night time sleeping schedule, their body is tied into a routine which they are accustom to. Even though you put them to bed later, they'll probably still wake up at their usual time, possibly even earlier because of their disrupted sleep pattern.

Putting your child into bed when they are still excited and hyperactive can make falling to sleep a challenge for them. A wind down time may be the solution for that situation. Allowing your child 20 to 30 minutes of calm before bed time is important to help them relax and prepare to go to sleep. This is important for children of all ages, not just babies and toddlers. Get them away from the television, turn off any games they are playing and find some relaxing activity that transitions them into bed when they are completed with it.

Caffeine before bedtime is a no-no. Not knowing where the caffeine is hidden is what causes this common mistake. Caffeine can be found in so many of the drinks and snacks you give to your child it can be difficult to know. Check the label on all of the snacks and drinks you give them. Try to institute an afternoon ban on all caffeinated products. Your child will sleep better and so will you.

Do you make any of these mistakes? Now that you know, change the pattern and the problems of getting your children to fall asleep will also change.

Resource: Surprising Sleep Mistakes Parents Make - Women's Day - November, 2008