Tips to Help Your Kids Sleep Better
For as long as I can remember, I’ve had trouble sleeping at night. My mother still tells stories about how she’d find me sitting in the dark as a child, just waiting to fall asleep. I’ve often wondered if I didn’t have the right sleep habits as a young child so my body wasn’t trained to fall asleep.
I now follow some pretty strict bedtime steps that help me relax at night so I’ll fall asleep faster. Because I want my kids to get their needed rest and feel refreshed each and every morning, we follow a similar routine for bedtime with them as well.
Tips to Help Your Kids Sleep Better
1. Turn off electronic devices, such as smartphones, tablets and TVs, and leave them out of the bedroom so they are not a temptation or a distraction.
2. Relax with a calming activity, such as reading or talking about the day, before bed to help wind down. Our kids love to enjoy books – whether we read one together or they enjoy one alone quietly.
3. Avoid caffeine, sweets and heavy meals close to bedtime, as they can all contribute to interrupted sleep.
4. Make sure your child’s bedroom is dark and quiet throughout the night. If needed, use darkening shades to block light and a fan or noise machine to block sounds.
5. Keep the children’s room temperature cool, between 60 and 67 degrees Fahrenheit.
6. Let your children drink enough water to avoid waking up from feeling thirsty. Be careful not to let them drink too much so they don’t need to use the bathroom at night.
7. Make sure that your child is comfortable with clean bedding and a mattress that gives proper support.
For my kids, the two most important pieces of the routine are to turn off tech and to wind down with a relaxing activity. Almost 100% of the time, that means reading books.
Many nights, the kids like to read by themselves in their own beds. When they were younger we’d all read together, piled into one big bed. Now that the kids are older, it’s not as easy to find a book or story that they all enjoy so I’m thrilled when I come across something we can read together as a family.
Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls is exactly that – a book that all of the kids love. Over the last few weeks, we’ve been turning the lights down low, turning off the tech, and snuggling together with our new favorite book.
Full of stories that encourage women and girls to think big, follow their dreams, be bold, and to never ever give up, the book is truly inspiring. Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls tells stories about real women who have done amazing things – from pirates and queens to authors and artists. There’s even a map that shows where each of the women live(d) so my girls can find them as they learn each life story.
As my little girls head off to dreamland, I love that their minds will be filled with stories that inspire and empower them.
There are 100 stories, each a page long, so the girls can focus on one each night or enjoy a few before they head to bed. We’ve been enjoying our book so much that I’ve already ordered book one to read when we’re finished.
If you have girls you’d love to inspire, be sure to get them Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls
Dream bigger, aim higher and fight harder with Rebel Girls.