Health Topics for Child Health and Development

UI Children's Hospital

UI Family Care Centers

Divisions Within the Department of Pediatrics

Iowa Registry for Congenital and Inherited Disorders

Sleeplessness

Kids often do not like to go to bed. Bedtime resistance emerges around the age of 2 and can continue for years. A variety of reasons can create their resistance and the sleeplessness that comes with it. These include:

• fear of separation
• fear of the dark, strange noises, intruders, imagined ideas, or nightmares
• lack of sleep or insomnia
• illness
• stress, anxiety and
• desire and excitement to stay up with other family members and activities

To avoid escalating dramatics and loud demands at bedtime, try these tips:

• Develop a plan and stick with it. Set a consistent bedtime. Give advance warnings that bedtime is drawing near and options for spending the remaining time.
• Do not fight, argue, or watch scary TV shows before bedtime.
• Do not ignore your child's cries, investigate why they are fussy.
• Create a positive bedtime ritual to calm and reduce anxieties in your child. Establish a series of activities that can be followed in the same order each night. Examples are giving the child a bath, playing a quiet game, singing a song, passing out goodnight kisses, reading a story, saying prayers, and cuddling in a rocking chair. Be consistent and do your ritual activities in the same order and do not rush, or the child will feel shortchanged. Be firm when it is over.
• Insist that the child stay in his room and have quiet time. Children cannot be forced to go to sleep. They fall asleep when they are ready. Allow the child to read or play quietly with toys, but not leave the room.
• Give the child some control over his environment. Leave a plastic bottle of water next to the bed for drinking. Allow a radio or recorder to play softly and a flashlight to be used. Leave a nightlight on in the room.
• Gradually change a child who may be sleeping in your bed to sleeping in his own. Start with a sleeping bag on the floor next to your bed. Next, move the child into the hallway and then into his own room. Cuddly toys are great company and comfort during these times.

The goals are to create a relaxing routine that works for your family and to prevent bedtime sleeplessness from becoming a nighttime battle. In time, your child will develop good sleep habits.

Last Reviewed 2005

Disclaimer: This content is reviewed periodically and is subject to change as new health information becomes available. The information provided is intended to be informative and educational and is not a replacement for professional medical evaluation, advice, diagnosis or treatment by a healthcare professional.

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