Sleeping

If your child isn't sleeping

Not getting enough sleep can be really difficult for parents. Children also need lots of sleep to stay healthy, grow and develop and to cope with the world around them.

If your child isn't sleeping, try:

• sticking to a relaxed bedtime routine. This could include calming things like feeding, a bath, a massage, a song or a story.
• watching for signs of overtiredness which can make settling them harder. Babies might rub their eyes, grizzle, have jerky or tense movements or yawn.
• putting them to bed when they are relaxed and sleepy but not asleep
• soothing techniques such as gentle stroking or a reassuring hand on their back. Soft background music might help.
• Leaving the room to give them a chance to go to sleep without you.

If they still aren't settling:

• don’t rush back in if they grizzle, wait to see if the noise is getting louder or quieter.
• check they are clean, warm, not hungry. Then try soothing techniques.
• avoid eye contact, be gentle yet firm when you know they need a sleep
• keep a diary over the week to get a picture of their sleeping/waking patterns.

Sleeping facts

• About 75% of one-year-olds wake up once or more a night.
• Sleeping habits change as babies grow. New babies need their needs met at night. This includes feeding and changing nappies.
• Babies don’t sleep longer or settle more easily if they are kept awake for longer. Sometimes they get overtired and won’t sleep at all.
• Sleep routines can be upset by teething, growth spurts, sickness or changes in their environment.
• It can take time for a child to learn to go to sleep on their own.
• Everyone has sleep cycles that bring them close to waking – 45 minutes for newborns and every few hours for adults. Adults have learnt to go back to sleep. Children can too, if they get the chance.
• Sometimes routines are upset by travel or sickness. You can go back to these when life settles down.