Domestically Challenged – Parenting Tips from Author Alana Morales

UPDATED POST – Complete with “Guerrilla Sleep Tips For Parents” – ok, not really, but I think there is potential there

Those of you who know me, know that my kids have issues when it comes to sleeping.  In fact, if we can make it an entire night without getting up with one of the kids, we consider it a victory. (Update – this literally has only happened two times in 7 weeks. TWO. This makes me unhappy. And cranky…)

Here are a few tips to help reluctant sleepers make it through the night:

1. Wear them out.

One of the best ways to help your kid sleep is to make sure they burn off enough energy throughout the day. Be warned, you don’t want an overly tired kiddo – this leads to meltdowns. Make sure you aren’t too active directly before bedtime. Kids need to to unwind too.

2.Talk time.

When you are tucking kids into bed, take at least 5 uninterrupted minutes and talk to them. Oftentimes, when you are both sitting in the low light and they are feeling safe and comfortable, they will tell you things they may not have otherwise. This is a great time to bond and to let them get things off their chest.

3. Use scent.

I will use any gimmick that I think will help me help my kids get a full night sleep go to sleep. One thing that has worked well is aromatherapy. I use the Lavender Pillow Spray and Room Spray from Bath & Body Works for both of my kids. It’s difficult to think anything bad when you are huffing lavender. I’m sure there is a way to make your own scent, but lavender is expensive, so I will stick to my BBW.

4. Do the monster mash.

If you have a kiddo who is afraid of monsters, give them monster spray. Take a spray bottle, put something scented in it (just a few drops of shampoo or essential oil) and let them go at it. It will give them the power to eliminate their fear.

A word of warning here. If you have a kid like mine, you may find several wet spots around their room. You may want to take the bottle out of their room after a few minutes. Let them know that once they spray, they don’t need spray again. And again.

5. Do what works.

Kids are quirky. Some kids just need different environments to sleep in. My daughter has to sleep with her lamp on – our compromise is that it is on the lowest setting of a dimmer. My son has to sleep with his MP3 and his radio on classical music. If you can come to a solution with your child that won’t bother anyone else in the house, give it a shot – it can’t really make things worse, right?

**BONUS TIP**

What about when these tricks don’t work?

You have a few options if you are in what my husband and I affectionately call “Sleep Hell.” This is where you end up when your kid has a bad nightmare, gets really sick or you have a big life event that throws them off kilter.

Here’s a few options:

~~ Sit in their room until they fall asleep. The key is that this isn’t talk time. If you have a talker (I have two), let them know that if they talk, you will leave. Then, before they fall asleep, make sure you have a clear path to the door. I can’t tell you how many times we’ve done this, only to step on the one electronic toy in the entire room.

Use a folding chair and gradually move it closer to the door if you have to do this over a series of nights.

~~ Set up a reward system. When my son’s anxiety was particularly bad, we had to bribe reward him to stay in his room. If he stayed in his room, he got to play his DS the next day.

Whatever the reward, make it one worth fighting for.

~~ Give ‘em some wiggle room. During the bad times, we would give our son ONE and ONLY ONE free pass. He could get up one time a night, but if it was more than that, he lost his reward. This really helped, because it forced him to think about his reasons for getting up to see if it was worth it.

That was like a super, mega bonus!

So, what sleep troubles have you had with your child? What worked for you? Leave it in the comments. And, if you really, really liked this post, can you share or Stumble it please?