When and how to teach your child to fall asleep on their own. Creation of conditions for independent falling asleep. Sweet dreams my dear

Why does even a very tired baby falling asleep in your arms start crying when he suddenly finds himself alone in the crib? And why does an older child rarely go to sleep on his own and sometimes fall asleep right during the game, one might say, against his will?

Every little one craves most of all the closeness of his parents. Being alone in bed means for him to part with his parents, no longer feel their soothing closeness and native warmth. Of course, a rare kid will agree to this without protest, especially if he is spoiled by parental attention during the day and “does not get away with it”.

Often, the baby falls asleep while breastfeeding or in the arms of her mother. Having once noticed that as soon as he falls asleep, how his mother tries to carefully shift him into a crib, the baby will next time resist sleep with all his might so as not to miss this moment. When he falls asleep, he will sleep very sensitively. Feeling how you shift him to the crib, he will immediately wake up and express his disagreement with a loud cry. Try to sleep yourself if you know, for example, that as soon as you close your eyes, someone will steal your blanket ...

Maybe the baby has woken up at night in her crib wet, cold, hungry or scared. nightmare. He felt lonely and forgotten, and he had to wait longer for his mother to come than during the day. After such an experience, the baby may experience a subconscious fear of sleep and protest when he is alone in his crib.

Very often the baby we are trying to put to sleep is just not tired enough yet.

For an older child, going to bed means leaving some interesting activity, finishing a game, saying goodbye to guests sitting in the next room, etc.

Knowing that parents or older brothers and sisters do not go to bed yet, the baby does not want to accept such “injustice”.
Some children are afraid of the dark.

Sometimes kids don't want to go to bed just because we spoiled them. The child uses the evening persuasion of the parents to prolong the time, or they serve him as an occasion for self-affirmation.

So, five-year-old Verochka came up with a new reason every evening to stay up. Now she was thirsty, then she could not find her favorite toy, then the pillow moved to one side. On other days, she called her mother because she forgot to kiss her goodnight or ask her about something important. Sometimes Vera's pajamas slipped off, sometimes she was too hot or cold. From time to time she heard strange noises in the room or saw shadows moving along the wall. On some days, she wanted to go to the toilet several times in a row or an empty stomach would not let the girl fall asleep. Either something itched in Vera, or it hurt ... But in fact, the girl simply enjoyed the attention of her mother, who returned several times every evening to her daughter's room and reassured her.

If many children are afraid of the dark, then Sashenka was afraid of silence. Parents did not know this for a long time and unsuccessfully tried to teach the boy to fall asleep alone in his room for closed door. Once, as usual, after closing the door to his room, my mother went to the kitchen. To her surprise, she did not hear the usual cries and protests this time. Thinking that the baby had finally learned to fall asleep alone, mom did her homework - she washed the dishes, cleaned them, boiled tea, etc. When she finished her chores and went to see if her son was really sleeping, she found that the door to the children's room was wide open open and the boy is sleeping peacefully in his bed. Sasha learned to get out of the crib and opened the door on his own! And the clatter of dishes, the splash of water and the noise of a boiling kettle meant for him that his mother was nearby and, therefore, he could sleep peacefully ...

Sometimes it may turn out that helping your baby fall asleep is easier than you thought. So, timid children can be calmed by a night light or opened door in the nursery, and older children fall asleep more readily if they are allowed to go to bed an hour later.

How to get your little one to fall asleep on their own

Teach a child to fall asleep without the help of parents and without any aids possible at any age. But babies aged 1.5 to 3 months get used to it most easily. Therefore, it is better to start with accustoming gradually from birth, while the child is not yet accustomed to different kind unfavorable rituals, from which it is then not so easy to wean him. If such habits have already developed, parents will need a little more patience, because the baby is unlikely to give them up voluntarily. But even in this case, the task is completely solvable, and it will most likely take no more than a week to solve it!

To teach you to fall asleep on your own baby, you need to put him alone in a crib from the very beginning as often as possible, nevertheless remaining next to him. If you carry the baby in your arms all day or rock him in the stroller during the day, then, being alone in a motionless bed, he will feel insecure. This feeling will be unusual for the baby, and he is unlikely to be able to sleep peacefully. Accustomed to the crib, the baby feels calm there, and in a familiar environment, any child falls asleep better.
Putting a baby alone in a crib does not mean leaving him there for for a long time especially if he cries. Of course not, crying baby need to calm down. But once he's stopped crying, don't carry him around. Put him down again so that he can see you or hear your voice. Talk to him, sing to him, but leave him in the crib so that he gradually gets used to it. Among other things, the child will learn to deal with himself in this way: look at his hands or play with them, look around, listen to the sounds around him, etc. Well, you yourself will have time to redo more things that you would not have had time if you had the baby was in your arms all the time.
If the baby at first falls asleep only on your chest, it's okay. You don't need to wake him up. For starters, it will be enough if he gets used to his bed while awake. When will he have a mode with certain time sleep, you need to gradually begin to separate food and sleep. Babies who like to fall asleep on their breasts or with a bottle are best fed when they wake up or, after at least some time before sleep. And by the time when the baby usually falls asleep, you need to put him alone in the crib. By this time, he is already tired and his "internal clock" has switched to sleep, so it will be easier for him to fall asleep without your help.
At first, it is not necessary to put the child alone in the crib before going to bed every time. You can start with once or twice a day, at the very time when, in your experience, the baby falls asleep most easily. For most children, it is evening, but there are children who fall asleep faster in the morning or afternoon. The main thing is that you and the baby feel that falling asleep on their own is, in principle, possible. Then it will become a habit - it's just a matter of time.
But what if you put the baby in the crib before going to bed and he starts to cry bitterly? Try to calm him down first without picking him up. Pet him, sing a song, talk to him, tell him how much you love him. Explain that it's time for bed to gain new strength, that you are there and will protect the baby while he sleeps. If the baby is still crying, pick him up. But as soon as he calms down, put him back in the crib. Crying again - try to calm down again without picking up, and only then, if all in vain, take the baby out of the crib. Maybe he is still too small and it is worth waiting a couple of weeks, so that then again carefully begin to accustom him to falling asleep on his own.
Some babies are helped to sleep by a pacifier. But as soon as the baby is sound asleep, carefully remove the pacifier from his mouth, otherwise he will wake up when he loses it in his sleep. And if the baby, waking up at night, is looking for a pacifier and cries, then she can become effective help only when he learns to find it himself.
Babies in their first months of life sleep better if they push back top heads in a rolled-up diaper, pillow, or backboard protected by a blanket. It reminds them of the feeling in the womb. (My daughter loved this feeling even in her older years. I always covered the top headboard with a blanket, and my daughter fit on the very top of the pillow to rest her head on the back.)
You can also swaddle the baby tighter before going to bed, which will also remind him of crampedness before birth. And when the baby gets older, a sleeping bag or a mother's shirt tied at the bottom with a knot can help him.
Mother's smell generally has a calming effect on babies, and you can just put something from mom's (worn) clothes next to the baby's head.
But do not forget that the main condition for the child to fall asleep on his own is the right time for bedtime. The kid must really get tired, otherwise attempts to put him down will not be successful. The easiest way to do this is if you have already introduced a strict daily routine. In this case, you know in advance when the “internal clock” of the child will switch to sleep. If not, then you will have to rely on your intuition and experience. A tired baby begins to yawn, rub his eyes or act up for no reason. Try to guess the best moment, when his eyes are already closing by themselves, to put him alone in the crib.

Everyone good day, and maybe mornings or nights, my dears! Have you put your babies to bed, or do they still demand that you guard their sleep without fail? Many mothers and fathers turn to me with the question: “How to teach a child to fall asleep on his own?” When I start asking how they fell asleep before, I hear quite expected answers: “He/she slept in the same bed with us, in the middle/always rocked for a long time/sang songs/carried in a stroller”.

Here is the result for you, well, how can you learn to sleep on your own when your parents are so patronizing or ... they are simply lazy, putting the baby with them in order to sleep longer themselves without getting up in the middle of the night. And then they throw up their hands when the child is about to go to school, and he still requires lullabies and mother's hugs throughout the night. At what age is it time to start weaning from the parental bed and mother's "bye-bye"?

After five it's too late

So, how do you think the “ideal” child should fall asleep? Probably in the crib, on his own, quickly, without jumping up at night? Well, the goals have been defined, which means there is something to strive for. Let's start.
All mothers are different and define everything in their own way. optimal age for teaching. I will tell you about some common age norms and I warn you right away that the sooner you start working on this issue, the better for you and the baby.

If a child is a year old, and he does not want to sleep alone in a cradle, this is not scary yet, but by the age of three he should be independent in this matter. At 5 years old, it is already a critical age, when, according to psychologists, it is already difficult for a child to emotionally rebuild. Therefore, we try to accustom even in infancy.

Of course, at 5 months, the baby will be afraid to go to bed alone: he really needs to hear his mother's heartbeat and even breathing, to feel the native smell of milk. But at 10 months it is already quite possible to “resettle” the baby from the parental bed to his bed. in babies on breastfeeding, they are gradually fading away, and psychologically he is already more ready.

Of course, you will have to sit with the baby for some time before going to bed, read books to him, stroke or just talk. About the little secrets of success self-falling asleep I will definitely tell the kids a little lower.

About 2 years old, when the child has already learned to walk and talk, and feels completely independent and very large, you can try to leave him alone in the room. At first, so as not to be afraid, you can leave the door ajar or do not turn off the night light.

According to my observations, I’ll say that it’s possible to put the baby in the crib even earlier, already at 2-3 months, unless, of course, you have the patience, because without mother’s warmth, he will be capricious and not sleep too soundly. My son fell asleep without motion sickness for the first time right after his christening. I don’t know if this is related to the ceremony, or maybe I’m just very tired. But the fact is: my three-month-old baby lulled himself to sleep, and subsequently there were no night jumps.

The first rituals that help the baby fall asleep should be started already in the first weeks after birth.

Contrary to the opinions of diaper opponents, I will say: swaddling is one of the most effective methods, helping the baby feel like in a cozy cocoon and not wake up at night from the fact that the arms and legs "live their own lives."
Be sure to sing lullabies, it is not necessary to know several of them and have excellent hearing and voice. Enough calm lulling to sing "Sleep tired toys"or an impromptu song of his own composition, without rhyme and deep meaning. It is enough for a child to hear his native voice.
Great for falling asleep creating a sound background that will resemble the sounds that the baby heard from mom in the tummy. It can be an untuned radio receiver, a recording of the sound of murmuring water, rain or a waterfall. You can talk to your husband in an undertone while the baby falls asleep, or quietly watch TV. This will help him at an older age not to flinch from every extraneous noise.
At 3 months, try not to accustom your child, falling asleep, to hang on your chest, otherwise later, without sisi, replacing in this case He won't be able to sleep at all.
Before going to bed, the baby should be awake for at least an hour and a half, because in order to fall asleep soundly, he needs to be tired. But do not allow overwork, they act on the “fall asleep” process in the opposite way.

Do not forget to feed the baby and change the diaper so that he does not wake up from hunger and dampness.
During the period when the newborn is being tormented, be sure to massage the tummy before going to bed.
In order for the baby to feel your invisible presence, smell, leave a dressing gown or towel rolled up in a roller in the crib. So he will be more comfortable, and it will seem that this mother is lying under the side.

Learning to stack with Komarovsky

This is how you will gradually prepare your child for an independent serene sleep. Dr. Komarovsky claims that if at the age of 1.5 a child cannot sleep, then it will be very difficult to teach him this later.

The pediatrician offers his method of accustoming. It was she who helped many mothers, I think it will come in handy for you.

First of all, he warns parents against the most common mistakes:

Some mothers and fathers decide that it is better to do everything abruptly, and the baby, accustomed to sleeping with them, is suddenly “relocated” to another room, close the door and leave. Such a "Spartan" method is clearly not suitable here. For a little man, this is the strongest stress, which threatens not only with sleep disturbances in the future, but also with mental problems. Everything must be done gently and gradually!
You can’t do without explanations and unnecessary prefaces either. You need to talk to the child in a calm, affectionate tone, explain that he is already big and it’s time to start sleeping separately.
Ignoring the complaints and fears of the child, unwillingness to listen to him is also a big mistake. Be as empathetic as possible, even if the nightmares that disturb the baby seem far-fetched to you. “Someone is hiding under the bed”, “Won’t Baba Yaga arrive?”, “What if I fall out of bed.” For every fear of the little one, you must give a gentle and reasonable rebuttal.

Climb under the bed together with a flashlight: there is no one there, only the car rolled up and a couple of cubes. Baba Yaga only flies in fairy tales, but you won't fall off the bed. Just in case, put soft pillows or large toys on the floor at the edge of the bed, which, in which case, will “catch” the baby.

Teach your baby to sleep independently

The close emotional and physical contact with the mother, which binds the baby so much from birth, should not be torn, but gradually weakened. If you sleep on the same bed, then you can first put your beloved to sleep between you soft toy baby, which will then move with him to his little bed.
Try this technique: instead of immediately putting the baby in a separate bed, first move it to your own. Sleep like this for a few weeks, and only then move it back to its original place.
Do not play noisy and outdoor games before going to bed, the baby should be as calm and peaceful as possible. Read a bedtime story or watch cartoons.
The bed of your crumbs should be cozy and beautiful, so that you would like to quickly climb into it, like into a small nest, curl up and fall asleep. You can hang a beautiful canopy, put beautiful soft pillows around the perimeter, hang a mobile with pleasant music.
Ventilate and humidify the air in the nursery, in stuffiness the baby will not be able to sleep soundly. Such a dream is more likely to exhaust, rather than bring strength and energy.
Buy a beautiful night light, and at first do not turn it off all night, then turn off the light as soon as the baby falls asleep.
Be sure to bathe the baby every evening, with foam, beautiful toys, let him swim with a special circle. Water procedures have a great effect on a successful and quick sleep.
cup warm milk and mom's kiss - two more rituals that will signal the little man that it's time to fall asleep, relax him.

Nightmares and other problems

Komarovsky also says that you can make small indulgences. For example, if the baby is tormented by fears or bad dreams, it is quite possible to let him into your bed. In the morning, be sure to talk about this dream, write on a piece of paper the name of the “villain” who scared him so much, and burn it. Together with her, the fear of the child will “burn out”.

When traveling or stressful situations(teeth hurt or cut), it is also quite acceptable to put the crumbs with you.

Remember that you can not swear and scare the baby with "babyki" and other monsters. This, on the contrary, will scare away sleep, and delay the moment of self-falling asleep. Be as soft and patient as possible, and soon your child will be able to fall asleep and not disturb you all night.

Grow, do not get sick, walk more, eat vitamins, and then there will be no problems with well-being and emotional state little ones, day or night, you won't know.

If you liked and found today's post useful, be sure to share it on social networks. See you soon my dears!

Some children, accustomed from infancy to fall asleep only after rocking in their arms to a lullaby, grow up and also refuse to go to bed on their own. Parents of such babies sooner or later begin to wonder how to teach a child to fall asleep on their own, so as not to inflict psychological trauma and keep peace in the family.

Co-sleeping: benefits and harms

Many mothers practice co-sleeping with breasts. In this case, it is very convenient to feed the baby at night without getting up, or to calm him down if he cries. This gives the woman the opportunity to sleep better.

For a baby, sleep with mom provides psychological comfort, having a beneficial effect on development. nervous system crumbs. It is important for a baby to feel that his mother is near, to feel her warmth. Parents need to be especially careful not to accidentally crush or hit the child in their sleep.

But time runs, breast-feeding already completed, and the baby is firmly "registered" in the parent's bed. The consequence of this may be a breakdown in relations between parents, including intimate ones. Disputes and quarrels begin to arise in the family. Therefore, for all the benefit co-sleeping the main thing is to stop it in time.

In the future, you can allow the baby to go to bed with their parents in the following situations:

spending the night in an unfamiliar place (for example, on trips);
strong emotional upheavals;
bad feeling.

In such cases, co-sleeping will calm the baby and allow him to feel safe.

What is the best age to teach

Some children are already six months ready to go to sleep on their own, others, more emotional, still need the help of adults. Parents need to focus on the character and temperament of their child.

It is better if the "separation" of the baby with mom will happen up to 2 years. In any case, if it was not possible to do this earlier, by the age of 3, the child should fall asleep on his own and separately from his parents. It is at this age that children begin to realize their own "I" and feel like a person, and emotional connection baby with mom is a little weakening.

Babies need to be taught to fall asleep on their own. Otherwise, in adulthood he may encounter unpleasant phenomenon like insomnia.

Creation of conditions for independent falling asleep

In order for the baby to be able to fall asleep on his own, it is necessary to create for him certain conditions. Then the process of weaning from joint sleep and motion sickness in the arms will be faster and painless.

Compliance with the regime. For children older than 1 year, an established and constantly observed daily routine is necessary. This does not mean at all that absolutely all actions should be clearly scheduled. It is enough to follow the sequence, adhering to the approximate time frame. But the baby should go to bed at the same time. According to the recommendations of pediatricians, the optimal interval for this is from 20:30 to 21:30.

Comfortable environment. A prerequisite for fast falling asleep and complete, sound sleep is a comfortable environment in the bedroom:

the room is well ventilated in advance, there are no drafts;
optimal air temperature (from 18 to 22 ° C);
humidity from 50 to 70%;
use of a night light.

Comfortable bed. Parents need to take care that the bed for baby sleep was comfortable for the baby. good option there will be an orthopedic mattress, as well as bed sheets from natural materials.

For an older baby, you can choose a bed together, taking into account his wishes. Children tend to imitate adults. You can explain to the baby that everyone in the family has their own place to sleep. Buying your own "adult" bed, which the child chose himself, can be a good reason to go to sleep on your own.

Establishing a "sleep" ritual. Young children are great conservatives, any changes that occur make them nervous. Parents need to develop a certain ritual for the baby to go to bed so that he remembers in what order and what actions are performed. For example, this option:

calm games (for older children - watching a cartoon);
collection of scattered toys;
bathing (you can add a decoction of soothing herbs to the water);
necessary hygiene procedures;
clean pajamas;
evening feeding or a glass of milk at night;
calm fairy tale or lullaby;
favorite toy that is associated with a night's sleep;
kiss.

The ritual for falling asleep is selected by parents, based on the preferences and temperament of the child. Usually, within 2 weeks, the baby remembers the usual sequence, and in the future, the preliminary preparation itself will set it up for sleep.

Ways to teach your baby to fall asleep on their own

Stopping motion sickness in the arms. Having decided to stop rocking the child in your arms before going to bed, you must definitely talk with the baby, sit next to him. Try to explain that he is already big and can fall asleep on his own in his crib, as all adults do. Whims should be answered in a quiet, calm voice, not allowing yourself to be manipulated.
Parent exposure vs. baby crying . Put the baby in the crib and leave the room. If the baby, left alone, cries and calls for mom or dad, you must definitely go to him. The child must understand that he was not abandoned, his parents are nearby. At the same time, you can’t take the crumbs in your arms, no matter how he asks for it. You can kiss again, wish Good night and again leave the room for 1-2 minutes. Over a period of time similar actions will have to be done several times a night. Each time the period of absence of the parent should be slightly longer than the previous one, eventually reaching up to 15 minutes.
Such a tactic requires a lot of endurance from adults and can take about a week in time. The main task of mom and dad is to overcome the desire to immediately pick up a crying baby or stay in his room longer. It is possible that these days the whole family will not have to sleep normally, but the patience of the parents will certainly be rewarded.
hold - put. For those parents who cannot bear the crying of their baby left alone, more suitable soft method laying. You need to put the baby in the crib before he falls asleep. If the baby cries, they pick him up a short time and tell him sweet words showing that they understand his feelings. Then the baby is again placed in the crib, and the whole cycle repeats. Parents should be prepared for the fact that during the evening they will have to take their child out of the crib several dozen times.
Taking the child in his arms, it is necessary to avoid motion sickness and lengthy persuasion. This method more time-consuming and time-consuming than the previous one, it is suitable for restless and timid kids.

Childhood fears

Sometimes a child who is perfectly able to fall asleep on his own suddenly wakes up in the middle of the night. Waking up alone, the baby is frightened of the surrounding darkness and runs to his parents. In no case should you scold or shame the child. You need to talk to him to find out the cause of concern.

If the child is afraid of the dark, you need to turn on a night light next to the crib. Subdued light will calm the baby and help to fall asleep.

Often fears are the result of watching cartoons with monsters and reading fairy tales that are scary for the baby. It is necessary to protect the child from such an impact on the psyche. And in no case, in case of disobedience, should you scare the baby with the “bad wolf” or “Baba Yaga”.

If parents see that the child is very scared and afraid to be alone, it is better for them to stay and sit next to him until he falls asleep. In difficult cases, psychological counseling may be required.

Typical mistakes of parents

Parents who decide to teach their child to fall asleep on their own should avoid serious mistakes:

Leave the child alone immediately. If the baby is used to being laid down by mom and dad, such abrupt change adult behavior can provoke mental problems in him. The process of accustoming to independent falling asleep should be gradual and gentle.

If the baby is not sleeping properly evening time, mother and other family members do not have to sleep. Everyone gets tired. With daily repetition of such a procedure, it will end nervous breakdown for the child, his parents and everyone who is bothered by his crying and lack of sleep (other family members, immediate neighbors). How to teach your baby to fall asleep on his own?

The question of how to teach a child to fall asleep on his own is very acute for young parents. If they have not taken classes at the school for young parents and have not read this information from competent sources, they begin to listen to the advice of friends, relatives, neighbors, which they have learned from their own life experience. These tips look like this:

Let him get used to sleeping on his own.
Cry and sleep.
Wait a few months.
He, like all children, will get used to falling asleep on his own.
Parents and relatives come up with different excuses for sleeping in their arms: the child is teething, the tummy hurts.
For some parents, the baby falls asleep well to the sound of the TV.

And now the baby from the first days of life is doomed to an independent search for methods normal sleep. He may cry for any reason, but since he is trained to fall asleep on his own, the reasons for his tears are not otherwise considered.

What are the consequences of improper placement of the child

How to teach a child to fall asleep on his own - the consequences of improper laying

It is clear that all children are different. Not everyone can learn to fall asleep on their own without help. dream, with medical point vision - good rest. Many things happen during sleep biological processes, in particular, in the first hours of sleep, the child grows. Therefore, the violation is fraught with serious deviations from the norm in health:

The consequence of improper sleep in infancy is that children's body retarded in growth.
He is not independent, depends on his parents or grandmothers.
He feels like he's not loved enough.
He often loses his temper for no apparent reason.
He cries often.

Becoming a schoolboy, he has the following features:

It is difficult to form his character because of uncertainty.
He is timid among peers and with elders.
Having good abilities, can not achieve success.

If the baby is not taught to fall asleep on its own before the age of 5, this can turn into insomnia for him, since this is a critical age for teaching a child to sleep on his own. At this age, the child already understands what parents require of him. He goes to sleep, but does not sleep: he is afraid, often wakes up.

The difference is that he becomes secretive and does not tell his parents about the difficulty of falling asleep. The percentage of children with sleep problems is about 35. Some parents consider it normal that a child from 6 months to 3 years old does not like to sleep and often (from 3 to 5 times a night) wakes up, justifying this with a desire to drink, eat, and others. reasons.

You don't need to help your baby fall asleep. He must learn to do it himself.

Children different ages sleep differently. By paying close attention from birth to how to teach babies to fall asleep on their own, parents avoid sleep problems in children. How to teach this to a newborn. The newborn develops according to a certain 3-4 hour cycle. He sleeps in any noise and place for as long as he needs, according to the cycle:

took food;
fell asleep;
dressed him up.

Then the same actions. If the newborn does not have this circuit, there is no reason to worry: everything is fine. At this age, sleep and food are closely related: he falls asleep after feeding and wakes up because he is hungry. But many mothers, with every crying of the child, not understanding the reasons, in order to calm him down, breastfeed the child.

This is wrong, because wrong habits are developed: the child begins to associate feeding with sleep and calm. When he gets older, he will eat in order to calm down. This will lead to overeating and obesity already in early age. You need to feed 1 time in 3-4 hours. And look for the cause of crying in another:

tummy ache;
tired of ambient noise;
wants to handle;
wet;
he is cold or hot.

It is too early to introduce a rigid schedule, but the difference between being awake and sleeping needs to be taught. During waking hours, talk to the child, do not leave him in the crib, take him in your arms, play with him. Sleep in light light. But at night, don't leave a light showing the difference between day and night. Don't walk on tiptoe during the day, allow yourself to vacuum, play the piano and watch TV. At night, strictly guard the silence so as not to disturb his sleep. Try to bathe before going to bed. infancy the child must sleep on his own in the crib, because it is much easier to teach than to relearn.

Parents' reaction

In the normal state of affairs, a child, starting from 6-7 months, sleeps in a crib, in his room, in complete darkness. At the same time, he does not wake up in the middle of the night, does not depend on the presence of adults. If your child is not. So he didn't learn to sleep on his own.

Parents' excuses that he went to kindergarten and this prevents him from falling asleep, he has too much energy, he wants to drink, eat, he is teething, he is worried about gases (they pass by 4-5 months) have no basis. The reason for the lack of normal sleep in 98% of cases is that they have not yet managed to accustom the baby to falling asleep on their own in the crib.

With proper laying, you can teach your baby to fall asleep on their own, the child will become a night sleeper in a week. To do this, parents need to learn some subtleties:

It is not your fault that the baby is not sleeping.
The reason is not that he is spoiled, even with the constant demand to be read to, carried in his arms, rocked, lulled, paid attention to him.
He lacks psychological problems(feels parting with parents).+
He is perfectly healthy. The fact that he does not sleep is not a disease. It cannot be cured with medication.

Why is it so difficult to teach a baby to fall asleep on his own?

The reason for the lack of sleep in babies is the three-hour cycle of their lives. In a cycle of 3-4 hours, which consist of the following elements:

hygiene.

Among babies there are anarchists who do not follow the cycle and eat, fall asleep and wake up, not adhering to the logic of the cycle.

By 3-4 months, the baby is already rebuilt on a 24-hour, so-called solar cycle. From this age, the number of hours of sleep at night increases. At first, he does not wake up for 3-4 hours in a row, then 5-6, 7-8, and so on until 10-12 hours of continuous sleep. No need to strictly tie the amount of uninterrupted sleep to the age of the child. It also depends on individual characteristics. Adaptation to the adult cycle depends on the development of a special area of the brain that regulates the internal clock of a person.

How parents should behave when teaching a child to fall asleep on their own, without motion sickness

How to teach a child to fall asleep on his own

If, while laying down the child, the parents rock him, he remembers that sleep is motion sickness. As soon as they stop pumping him, he immediately wakes up, because motion sickness for him means sleep. Therefore, for many parents, the question of how to teach a child to fall asleep without motion sickness remains relevant. By creating normal conditions for daytime and nighttime sleep, parents need to consider external features this process, which should become a habit of the child.

Therefore, the baby's daytime sleep should be combined with light lighting and little noise, while the nighttime sleep should be in complete silence and darkness. This develops in the child the concept of the difference between day and night. The baby must correctly navigate by external objects and phenomena and feel the difference between night and daytime sleep. Learning these landmarks depends on two parameters:

parental behavior towards him;
the presence of permanent objects during sleep.

Parents radiate confidence in their actions, even if they are not. It is necessary at this moment to demonstrate to the child how beautiful and natural the moment of falling asleep is:

No need to change the position in which the baby is placed in the crib. Everything must remain unchanged.
The bedtime and its order do not change: bathing, feeding, changing clothes, laying in the crib, then the light is turned off, the child is wished good night, the mother comes out. This order should be repeated every night.
In repetition lies the child's confidence that it should be so, turning into a habit. It gives him predictability and calmness and a sense of security.
If the baby is placed different people(mom, dad, grandmother), you need to agree on the order of laying.
And no surprises. This frightens the child with surprise and knocks him out of his usual rut.
Parents do not give the baby negative states, keep calm while laying it down.
They patiently teach the child to sleep on their own.
Every day, parents exactly repeat all evening procedures in a certain order, without confusing the child and accustoming him to certain actions.

What role should external elements play in developing the habit of independent sleep?

Role different items in peaceful sleep

They must be associated with sleep. If the baby is fed during bedtime, he is taught that sleep is food. He will get used to it and will fall asleep only at his mother's breast or with a bottle. When food disappears, he will wake up and look for it. During sleep, all people wake up for a few seconds and then fall asleep. If baby. FROM troubled sleep wakes up and does not find the usual situation, he gets scared, cries and may no longer fall asleep.

If he has been taught to fall asleep in a moving wheelchair, he will look for her. If he fell asleep in his father's arms, he will look for his father:

The child is placed in a bed. He perceives the crib as a dream.
They give him a pacifier. He takes it the same way.
He is given a toy with which he must sleep (doll, dog, bear).

The baby needs external elements that are associated with sleep for him. The mistake of parents is that they are also present at bedtime, because they incorrectly choose external elements (a bottle of food, a stroller in which they rock it. It is necessary to select external elements that remain with the child at night without the presence of parents. These include:

blanket
pillow;
pacifier;
plush toy.

A mandatory external item is his crib. He should sleep only in his bed. And you should not make the following mistakes when laying down a baby who is more than 6 months old:

to drink and feed;
allow him to frolic, hoping that he will get tired and fall asleep faster;
take to the parent's bed;
pat on the head and caress;
allow to touch mother;
give your hand;
affect him;
carry before going to bed by car;
pump in a stroller, crib or in your arms;
sing.

You don't need to help your baby fall asleep. He must learn to do it himself.

Teaching a child to fall asleep on his own

How much a child sleeps depends on his well-being. Already in early childhood, various kinds of sleep disorders are observed, one of which is the inability to fall asleep on their own. The sleep of such children is weak and short-lived, they wake up every hour, and for further sleep, the intervention of the parents is required: chest, motion sickness, carrying on hands. It is at this stage that thoughts arise that it is time to teach the child to fall asleep without outside help. Formed habits do not allow this to be done, and many despair, continuing to follow the routine.

Content:

Causes of poor sleep

Children who are initially accustomed to falling asleep in their own crib are few, much more than those who fall asleep with their mother, and then in every possible way oppose sleeping separately. big problem is the inability to persuade even very tired babies to go to bed. This applies to how daytime sleep, and night. How healthy sleep will be depends largely on how parents teach the child to fall asleep on their own.

To begin with, you should be patient and find out what prevents the child from voluntarily going to bed and falling asleep peacefully there himself:

Overexcitation. The guys, playing outdoor games, do not give in to any persuasion and refuse to fall asleep. It is necessary to calm the child before putting him to bed. A warm relaxing bath, mother's fairy tale, calm music will help.
Physical discomfort, discomfort. If the child has fever, he is worried about colic, itchy or sore gums, it is quite natural that he needs attention and care.
Age plays an important role. For babies, the presence of their mother is important, so they often ask for breasts, including at night. Older children, already accustomed to the presence of their parents, protest when they are alone.
"Bad habits". Parents themselves often create conditions that children get used to quickly, but it can be difficult to wean them from them. Constant motion sickness, carrying on hands, correction of a dropped nipple do their job. And after a couple of weeks, the child can no longer be put to bed without shaking, or he wakes up immediately, as soon as he is transferred from his arms to the crib.

Ideally, you need to teach your baby to fall asleep on his own almost from birth. But rarely does a mother wake up a child who has fallen asleep at her breast in order to simply put her in a crib and put her back to sleep there. Why not rock in the stroller or scold him in his arms if he falls asleep so quickly? So it turns out that the child sleeps exclusively in his arms, in a moving car or with a breast in his mouth. And it is worth even a soundly asleep baby to deprive the usual conditions of sleep (put in a crib, remove the chest), as he immediately wakes up and cries.

How to help your child fall asleep on their own

Parents get tired a lot, laying down a child who does not want to sleep at all. You need to be calm and achieve your goal gently, but persistently. Because common cause reluctance to fall asleep is overexcitation, the child should be reassured:

The daily routine helps to develop a biorhythm. However, do not follow it too strictly. If the child slept longer than usual during the day, then night sleep it is better to put it later. If there are guests at home, you should not interrupt the fun: the baby will begin to act up, because without him so many interesting things will happen. It's okay if he lingers.
Many parents are helped by so-called evening rituals: quiet games, warm bath, reading a fairy tale. By repeating these actions every day, the child will sooner or later get used to the fact that this is how he prepares for sleep.
After that comes the time water procedures. For very excitable children who are not so easy to calm down on their own, a soothing infusion is added to the bath. Which one, the pediatrician will advise, he will also calculate the dosage.
The nightlight turns out to be superfluous. Subdued light not only soothes, but also dispels fears, it's no secret that many children are afraid of the dark.
Toddlers who are strongly attached to their mother, requiring a lot of affection and attention, will have a harder time getting used to falling asleep on their own. It is possible that the process will take more than one month.
Even if the child wants to sleep, any interesting activity can instantly banish sleep. Experts advise to catch signals: yawning, rubbing eyes, sipping. It usually happens around the same time.
Babies who are used to a pacifier often wake up when they lose it in their sleep. Do not return the pacifier to the child if he spat it out without falling asleep. So, he calmed down, and he no longer needs this attribute. Constantly correcting, parents teach not just to fall asleep, but to sleep with a pacifier.

Choosing a method, it is necessary to focus not only on the nature of the child, but also on his age.

Independent sleep of babies

Neurologists say that babies are ready to fall asleep on their own from birth. It is necessary to put the child in the crib when he has not yet fallen asleep. This is explained by the fact that, having fallen asleep in the arms or at the mother’s chest, and waking up in the crib, he is frightened. After all, an adult would be frightened, falling asleep in one place, and waking up in another. It is necessary to distinguish between food and sleep. The baby is fed and then laid down. To make him feel the presence of his mother, you can stroke him on the back.

If the child cannot sleep, cries, is very restless, you should not leave him. You can take him in your arms to calm him down, but do not rock him. As soon as he calms down, put him back in the crib. When the mother sees that the child does not show displeasure, you can leave the room, listening to how he behaves. If the baby cries a lot again, they calm him down and put him back in bed. However, if this is repeated 3-4 times, the child should be laid in the usual way for him. Perhaps he is still too small and not ready for change. Try again in a couple of weeks.

Babies who are used to being rocked and carried can have a harder time getting used to falling asleep on their own. Motion sickness is no longer a whim, but a necessity, because the brain is trained to turn off that way. Here you will have to be patient and gradually replace at first at least one laying per day without motion sickness. You can replace it with a light stroke. You should not pat the baby: children quickly get used to monotonous movements and sounds, then they will have to be weaned from them. And any change for a child is a lot of stress.

Infants chaotically wave their arms and legs, touching themselves, from which they are frightened and cannot fall asleep. It is recommended to swaddle them before going to bed. So that the child does not get used to this position, during wakefulness he is given the opportunity to get used to his body.

Video: Another way to teach a child to sleep. Mom experience

How to deal with older children

Many parents from early childhood teach their child not to fall asleep in silence. But by the age of 2-3, they are also surprised to notice that the baby, who calmly fell asleep under the conversation of the guests, refuses to lie down, even if he just hears someone's steps in the next room. The fact is that the child is afraid to miss something interesting while he sleeps. Or it's just a shame to fall asleep when others are awake. In this case, it is desirable to ensure complete peace and quiet, and tell the child that it is already night and everyone is sleeping. So, everything interesting is transferred to tomorrow.

An hour before bedtime, you need to leave all outdoor games and go to calm activities: watch a cartoon, listen to your favorite song, read a book. The activity should be relaxing and soothing.

For children under 5-7 years old, bodily contact with their mother is very important. It is enough to lie down with the child, hugging him and stroking his head. Be sure to say good night and kiss the baby before leaving.

There are many ways that parents resort to so that their child learns to fall asleep on his own. It all depends on individual characteristics. So, some children sleep in silence, they are disturbed by extraneous sounds. Others, on the contrary, need monotonous noise. Still others fall asleep to a fairy tale or music. You can invite the child to come up with his own dream, and when he tells it, ask him to close his eyes to watch it.