How to teach a child to fall asleep on his own

Very often parents do not know how to teach a child to fall asleep on their own. Attempts to correct the situation end in stress for the child and parents. In the end, they give up... But! If parents knew that the child's ability to get enough sleep and relieve stress throughout his life depends on how independent and calm his sleep is between 5-6 months and 2-3 years... So, here are some simple but effective tips on how to teach a child to fall asleep on his own.

At what age should you teach your child to fall asleep on their own?

You can start moving your baby to his own crib from the parent's from six months to 2-3 years. It is at six months that the number of feedings decreases, at night the baby no longer needs to get up to suckle, and the mother can fall asleep earlier. Therefore, you can start moving the baby to his crib and teach him to fall asleep on his own.

The easier and more painless this procedure is, the calmer and stronger the baby's nerves will be. This will affect his entire future life.

Important tips for putting your baby to bed

The most important thing in the bedtime ritual is that all the parents' actions begin and end at the same time every day. This disciplines the child, accustoms his body to the same routine.

And even more important advice: putting the child to bed should be accompanied by pleasant rituals for him. For example, warming the bed, massage, bathing, playing with a favorite toy, reading a favorite fairy tale, putting on a favorite pajamas, turning on a favorite night light. Transferring the child to his crib should not be accompanied by stress, negative emotions. Otherwise, the child will subconsciously associate sleep with something unpleasant, restless, unprotected for the rest of his life.

Putting a child to bed should not take longer than 10 minutes. A longer process is difficult to understand. Ideally, the light should be turned off, but if the child is afraid to sleep in complete darkness, leave a night light.

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Technique for putting the baby to bed

Did you think that as soon as you left the child's room, he would fall asleep peacefully? No way! In 90% of cases, the child will burst into tears, start calling for mom and dad, may throw a tantrum, beat his arms and legs on the crib and choke with sobs. What heart of stone can withstand this? Therefore, parents often wait 10 minutes, can't stand it and rush to their little one. This is a key moment in the child's struggle for his own comfort. The baby immediately understands that the manipulation was successful and he won, not the parents. Now he will use this simple technique constantly, which will ruin all attempts of the parents to put him to a separate bed. What to do?

Use the stopwatch method. It will help both you and your child to gently but effectively accustom him to sleeping without parents. Look at the clock and from the moment you leave the room, time three minutes. If the child does not calm down during this period of time, go into his room, but do not pick up the baby or take him out of the crib. Just talk to the baby, say that everything is fine, wipe away his tears, turn him on his right side and wish him good night. Then leave. Now you need to endure 4 minutes.

If the baby has not calmed down, repeat the previous method: enter the room, calm the baby and leave. So, extend each visit by 1 minute. When calming the baby, your voice should be quiet, soft, affectionate and, most importantly, calm. This way, the child understands that everything is fine and mom and dad are nearby.

How many days will it take to get the baby to bed?

Yes, yes, the first or second day will be difficult for parents, the process of putting the child to bed can take up to two hours. But who said that raising children is an easy matter? But then the child will fall asleep on his own. And parents will not have to suffer with him for many months, or even years, to be left alone in their own bedroom.

Statistics show that in the first 24 hours, it can take up to 12 attempts to put the baby to bed with a final 15-minute break. But the main thing is to stick to the method, and the parents will definitely succeed. The first 24 hours are the most important. If on this day the parents can't stand it and take the baby to their place, further putting the baby to bed can take several months, because the child will understand that he is stronger than his mom and dad.

The second day of putting the baby to bed will also be difficult. But now you should make the first break longer – start your return to the baby’s bedroom not with three, but with five minutes. Then add to each break not 1, but 2 minutes. The child will understand that your actions are systematic and strict, and your will is strong.

On the third day it will be easier, and you can start your break with 7 minutes, adding to them not 2, but 4-5 minutes (focus on your baby’s reaction).

If the child still does not fall asleep on his own, on the seventh day you take an even longer break - from 15 minutes, adding 5 minutes to each of your visits. This eventually bears fruit: with a systematic daily approach of parents, in a week the children fall asleep on their own after 2 approaches.

Yes, for a week, both parents and children will not have to sleep normally, especially starting from 9-10 pm. But patience and consistency will still be rewarded: a week of nightly torment will pay off with long months and years of peaceful independent sleep for the child and freedom for the parents, and you will finally forget about this question: "How to teach a child to fall asleep independently?"

If your baby wakes up and cries at night or your efforts to put him to bed have not been successful for more than a week, take him to the doctor. Perhaps the reasons for his night crying are not loneliness and anxiety due to insecurity, but serious health problems. Understand these reasons, and let your baby sleep peacefully.