Myth one: You should never wake up a child who is fast asleep!
All parents are told about this and you don’t know whether to believe in all this or not. But what about babies who need to be fed every 2-3 hours? Can't you wake them up too? In fact, you really shouldn’t wake up small children. But doctors recommend doing this only if the baby has weight problems. If children eat often and gain weight well, then let them sleep as much as they want.
OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA
Myth two: Bumpers on the crib protect the baby from bumps and bruises.
It is possible to hit the side of the bed, but not so hard as to damage anything. What's more dangerous is bulky bedding, which can get tangled up.
The third myth: while the child is sleeping, there must be absolute silence.
Silence is needed while the child falls asleep. But the background noise afterward most likely will not distract, and perhaps even lull the baby to sleep. The baby heard the noise while he was in his mother's tummy, so external noises will not distract him from sleep.
Daily routine and hourly sleep rate
Anna, why is it important for a baby to follow a daily routine?
Nature provides for a child to fall asleep and wake up at the same time, according to his biological clock. If daytime naps and feedings occur chaotically, then the baby’s physiological rhythms are unbalanced, and feelings of hunger or drowsiness occur at inappropriate times. The baby’s body does not understand what is coming next: a snack or a full meal, a late afternoon nap or an early bedtime. This leads to short naps during the day and frequent waking up at night.
How many times can a baby normally wake up during the night and does it need to be woken up for feeding?
A baby up to 3-4 months should wake up two or three times to eat. Ideally, two. After six months, the child can sleep at night without interruption.
A baby over 6 months old does not need to be woken up at night, even if it seems to you that he is hungry.
The rule is simple: the time of feeding fixes the time of waking up. If you feed your baby 10 times a night, he will wake up 10 times.
Can a child wake up for no reason?
No, usually the baby wakes up from something - either from a feeling of hunger, or from discomfort, because he is cold, or his diaper is wet, or, for example, he has colic. But maybe the child just got enough sleep and doesn’t want to sleep anymore.
Is there an hourly norm for infant sleep?
There are specific tables that outline the baby's sleep norm. However, it is worth considering that some children need a little more sleep, while others need a little less.
There are babies who in the first months do nothing but sleep, some stay awake for an hour or two between sleeps, and this is normal. This is not to say that a child “should” sleep a certain number of hours; we need to consider each child individually and take into account the external factors of his sleep pattern - especially the feeding factor.
Sleeping and feeding
Often a child falls asleep on his mother’s chest and immediately wakes up when his parents try to put him in a crib. Why does this happen and is it possible to influence the situation?
The main problem of parents is that they teach their child to fall asleep on the chest or when rocked to sleep. The baby does not fall asleep on the chest, but only dozes. At the same time, he concentrates not on the process of falling asleep, but on eating. Therefore, at the moment when the parents change the conditions - they want to move the child to the crib - the baby instantly wakes up.
Ideally, it is important, firstly, to teach the child to fall asleep on his own, without rocking or breastfeeding. Then, when he wakes up, he will be able to go back to sleep. Secondly, you need to separate feeding and sleep - the largest number of problems with dreams are associated with incorrect breast-sleep association.
Older children and naps
If we are talking about older children, preschoolers, how do you feel about daytime sleep?
Daytime sleep is necessary for everyone up to 3.5 years of age. Afterwards, the refusal of daytime sleep begins: for example, a child can sleep in kindergarten, and on weekends, at home, not sleep during the day. Here it is important to understand the physiological needs of the child: if at 4 years old the child feels well without naps and is not capricious, then nothing threatens his health. But it is worth considering that he will need to be put to bed early in the evening.
The optimal daytime sleep schedule is from one to three o'clock. At one o'clock sleep begins because it is at this time that the body's activity declines. If the child sleeps for more than two hours, he should be woken up.
If a child does not go to kindergarten and can sleep for a long time in the morning, up to 9-10 o’clock, is it worth waking him up?
If your child sleeps during the day, he should be woken up at 7-8 am so that he can go to sleep by 1 o'clock.
How much and how should children sleep?
The amount of sleep children need for normal well-being and development depends on age. Of course, there are children who love to sleep and indulge in this activity selflessly and with complete dedication, and there are those who do not sleep themselves and do not let their parents sleep. However, doctors are categorical: there are minimum sleep standards that must be adhered to:
- Newborns should sleep at least (!) 11 - 15 hours and from five to ten times a day.
- Young children need 11 to 13 hours of sleep per day. In this case, night sleep should be at least 9 hours, and during the day the child needs to sleep twice for 1.5 - 2 hours or once for 2.5 - 3 hours.
- Preschoolers need 10–11 hours of sleep per day.
Of course, all children are different. However, experience shows that if a newborn baby chooses when to sleep and when to stay awake, but at the same time is capricious, nervous or eats poorly, it is necessary to help him. Try to establish at least a semblance of a routine, and, most likely, the baby will become much calmer and more cheerful.
Not like adults
Anna, is a child’s sleep different from an “adult’s”?
As you know, all people have different phases of slow and fast sleep. In infants under three months of age, slow sleep is not yet divided into stages; it is called “quiet”. After three months, the stages of slow-wave sleep begin to stand out, and after six months, the child’s sleep becomes similar to the sleep of an adult. By the age of 10 months, a child’s sleep cycle, like that of an adult, lasts, on average, an hour and a half - slow sleep gives way to fast sleep.
Is it true that children grow up in their sleep?
Of course, growth hormone is released during sleep.
Popular questions from parents about children's sleep
No matter how much we talk about children's sleep, parents constantly have new questions. Dr. Komarovsky in his video answers every popular problem in great detail and clearly.
Does extraneous noise harm children's sleep?
As a rule, the child gets used to the conditions in which he has been since birth. First of all, this concerns extraneous noise stimuli. So, if dad constantly snores at night, or there is a dog in the house that constantly barks, then these irritants do not interfere with the child’s sleep. Noises are also not harmful to health.
What to do if the child opens up at night?
Most of the time, children throw off the covers during the night because they are too hot. If this problem occurs, you need to pay attention to the temperature in the room: if it is above 18-200C, then there is no need to cover the child with a thick sheep's wool blanket. At normal air temperatures recommended by pediatricians (18-200C), the child will not open. And if parents are worried that the baby will freeze at night, you need to make it a rule to put him to bed in pajamas and socks.
What to do if your child is used to motion sickness?
Sleep is a physiological need of a child, the same as the desire to eat, drink or walk when needed. The baby cannot stay awake. And even if he is used to being rocked in his arms, at first without this ritual he will scream, cry, be hysterical, but after a short time he will still fall asleep. And the main task of parents is to be patient and get through these difficult few days.
Should you feed your baby before bed?
It is difficult to imagine an adult who can fall asleep soundly on an empty stomach. The same applies to children. But if adults are not recommended to eat at night due to their inactive lifestyle, then it is even very necessary to feed children before bed.
When should you teach your child to sleep on a pillow?
Why do you need a pillow at all? If a person lies on his side, then for comfort he needs to put a pillow under his head, otherwise, due to the curvature of the spine, which is inevitably observed if you do not put a pillow under your head, headaches and other ailments will occur.
Since children have slightly larger head proportions than adults, the distance from head to bed will be less. This means that they do not need pillows until they are 2 years old. From the age of two, there is a need for a dense pillow approximately 2 cm thick.
Why do children sweat in their sleep?
Sweating is a reaction to:
- warm;
- dry air;
- a feature of the child’s autonomic nervous system.
If a child is active enough, has physical activity, is familiar with temperature contrasts, and has not been overheated since birth, then this forms sufficient vascular tone in him, which cannot cause sweating. If we talk about any hidden diseases, then sweating cannot be the only symptom. As a rule, this phenomenon is accompanied by a group of signs by which the disease can be recognized.
If your child sweats at night, you first need to determine:
- What temperature and humidity prevail in the room.
- How warm are the child's pajamas and socks?
- What kind of life does the baby lead?
How to properly bathe babies?
When do babies' first teeth appear? Look here
See and read useful tips for caring for your child here.
Do I need to wake up my child if he sleeps for a long time during the day?
If the baby sleeps well at night even though he slept for 3-4 hours during the day, then there is no need to interrupt his daytime sleep. But if the situation is completely opposite, and after a long daytime sleep the baby does not sleep well at night, then interrupting sleep during the day is a necessary measure.
It often happens that a mother, having not gotten enough sleep at night, goes to rest with her child during the day, after which they are ready for active games together at night, which cannot be said about other family members. Doing such things is categorically not recommended, since family members who do not get enough sleep will never be happy, which means that quarrels and scandals will appear in the family.
Baby's sleep conditions
How do you feel about the fact that a child and parents sleep together?
I definitely don't support it.
Sleeping together between a child and parents is, firstly, unsafe, secondly, it stimulates the child to wake up frequently, and thirdly, it creates incorrect sleep habits.
The baby gets used to having his mother nearby and less often learns to fall asleep on his own and skip sleep phases. It is necessary to put the baby in a crib from birth, then subsequently there will be no problems with falling asleep independently and weaning from co-sleeping.
What are the basic rules of sleep hygiene and how to choose a crib?
The optimal air temperature in the room is not higher than 20 degrees and the humidity is not lower than 50%. If the room is very dry, you need to purchase a humidifier. Before going to bed, you need to ventilate the room. When we bring a child from the bath, we try to make sure that there is no large temperature difference for the baby, that is, we do not steam the bathroom space to 40 degrees.
Crib - I advise you to choose the simpler the better. Do not purchase “nests” or any unusual designs.
What to do if your child has nightmares?
Nightmares are usually the result of a child receiving strong emotional stress during the day, being overexcited, not getting enough sleep, or having too much fun. As a rule, they appear in children after 2.5 years. Personally, I don’t see anything critical in this.
General recommendations for parents whose children often have scary dreams:
- make sure you take naps during the day;
- limit watching cartoons, TV;
- try not to carry out too active activities in the late afternoon so that the child does not become overtired;
- maintain a daily routine;
- limit sweets and citrus fruits.
- share with your friends!
Experts: Anna Skorina
How to help with daytime sleep disorders
Problem one: the child does not sleep during the day
First aid for any daytime sleep disturbances is a clear and strictly followed regimen. Many parents whose children do not sleep at home are surprised that in kindergarten their children, albeit without much pleasure, still meekly go to the bedroom at the appointed time, where they quickly fall asleep and sleep sweetly throughout the “quiet hour.” And it’s not only about the influence of the team, but also about the established regime once and for all. Children, once “on the rails,” obey the regime, including in matters of sleep.
The immature nervous system of preschoolers suffers in the “free” mode, but in fact - in the complete absence of it. Therefore, parents who want to help their children will have to step on their own throat and be sure to think through the optimal regime for the child and demand its obligatory observance.
Mandatory elements of the daily routine should be:
- A fairly long walk before nap. The child should take a breath of fresh air, run and jump in order to release accumulated energy, “work up” an appetite and get tired.
- A hearty lunch after the walk.
- Hygiene procedures (going to the toilet, washing, possibly showering).
In addition, the child’s daily schedule must include active games, activities, and gymnastics.
After feeding the baby and making sure he goes to the toilet, close the curtains in the room and ask the baby to “lie down a little” to rest, read him a book or sing a lullaby. A long walk, a hearty lunch, and habitual actions repeated day after day that prepare the child for sleep will definitely do their job, and the baby will fall asleep before he gets tired of rest.
