Get Children to Sleep London
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By Mandy Gurney Millpond Children’s Sleep Clinic Supernanny Expert 04/12/2007
Question one: A little girl who's great in the day...but not at night!
We have two children, a son aged four, and a little girl aged 19 months Our daughter, who is great all day, is an absolute nightmare at bedtime! We have tried lots of different ways to try and get her to sleep but nothing seems to be working. Since the day she was born she has always been a bad sleeper and woken through the night, but things are getting worse and worse. We have now got to the stage that, as she continues to climb out of her cot we have had no alternative but to put her into a bed as we are concerned that she will hurt herself We were hoping the move to the bed would help matters but unfortunately not. It takes us anything up to two hours to get her to sleep and she wakes constantly though the night - usually ending up in our bed (a last resort but our only way to get any sleep).
I have kept her up all day today and not given her a nap, hoping that this may help matters. I am going to try this for a couple of days and follow a strict bedtime routine of bottle, bath, story and bed. However, I am already feeling very negative about the results, as so far nothing we have tried has helped.
We have tried controlled crying and repeatedly returned her to her bed but she carries on screaming for hours and still wakes though the night when the whole nightmare starts all over again.
We really don't know what else to try and would appreciate any advice!
Mandy says:
It’s always worth keeping a Sleep Diary to monitor progress – it can really help you to keep going, and help you see what progress you’ve made:
A sleep diary should contain:
The time your child wakes up in the morning
The time and length of their day-time naps
The time you start preparing for bed
The time your child went to bed
The time your child went to sleep
How many times they woke in the night
What you did
What time your child went to sleep again.
Children of 19 months still need a nap everyday, and I’m sure that’s true of your daughter. To balance out the day, she should have a sleep after lunch for around two hours.
An over-tired child is difficult to handle and will fight sleep, but naps are very important. Lack of sleep produces higher levels of the stress hormone cortisol. Napping will help to reduce cortisol levels and help your child to sleep better at night too. Naps also help children to be more alert and observant during the day.
When it comes to bedtime, it’s very important to stick to a strict bedtime routine. Choose a bedtime and be consistent. This helps to regulate the body-clock and should help your daughter to fall asleep more easily.
Your bedtime routine should be quiet and consistent. This means having a quick, warm bath, then going straight from bathroom to bedroom, getting ready for bed, dimming the lights and reading a quiet story. After that, tell your daughter t...