What Can I Do If My Child Is Not Sleeping Enough?
The first two weeks after birth, the baby wakes up very often. This is due to the fact that his stomach is small and needs to be fed every 2 to 3 hours. Undoubtedly, this can cause sleep problems that lead parents to ask this question: Why is my child not getting enough sleep?
The good news is that, as time passes and the baby grows, his moments of rest will be longer and longer. This is why we need to create the ideal space for this sleep to be effective.
Having a comfortable crib or bed, a softly lit environment and a pleasant temperature can be the starting point for creating good habits for the baby when it comes to sleeping. If your child is not getting enough sleep , having a quiet environment and avoiding games that alter him right before rest will also help.
The number of hours of sleep recommended for each age
It is important to know if our child sleeps the number of hours his age requires or if he does not get enough sleep. These do not have to happen all at once, because the baby or toddler can divide his sleep into different time intervals.
- Newborn babies: must rest at least 16 hours a day.
- Babies from 3 to 12 months of age: 15 hours of rest.
- Babies from 1 to 2 years: they can sleep about 14 hours.
- Children 2 to 5 years: 13 hours of sleep recommended.
- From 3 to 9 years of age: 10 hours of sleep.
- Children between 14 and 18 years: at least 9 hours of rest.
After 6 months of life, the newborn begins to sleep less during the day, because the duration of the night’s sleep increases. Great news for parents!
However, it should be borne in mind that the duration of sleep varies from one child to another. Some will sleep a lot and others only a few hours. If you still think your child is not getting enough sleep, you need to identify the possible causes and try to find a solution immediately.
Get the signs
You must always be attentive to the signs of fatigue that your baby is sending you. If he is tired, he will rub his eyes, have red browbones, suck his thumb and yawn. So, as soon as you notice one of these signs, try to put it in the cradle as soon as possible.
On the other hand, avoid picking him up to put him to sleep. Beyond your good intentions, this will only prevent him from developing his own strategies for falling asleep on his own when he wakes up.
What to do if you wake up often?
If you notice that your child wakes up very often during a nap, or if you hear them crying and fidgeting when they still appear to be asleep, it may mean that they are struggling to move from one sleep cycle to another, but in reality, they are not fully waking up. .
So, try not to wake him up from the cradle to pick him up and don’t even give him a bottle. Just enter his room in silence to check that everything is fine and caress him with your hand to calm him down.
This way, you will avoid waking him up completely. If this happened instead, then you would have a much harder time making him fall asleep again; moreover, it could be this kind of behavior that causes the little one to start suffering from sleep disorders.
My child does not sleep enough: habits that can solve the problem
Putting babies to bed and waking babies at the same time all the time, as well as encouraging them to fall asleep on their own, will help give them more confidence. This is a great first step in avoiding sleep disorders.
We must always keep in mind that children are born like a blank book and that they are shaped according to the experiences they have. When a mother notices that something is happening and that her child is not getting enough sleep, she needs to analyze what habits the child has been taught, whether they are adequate and whether they have been followed with discipline.
Parents are the ones in charge of the physical and mental health of their children. For this reason, they must be attentive to all aspects that may affect their development. Having good sleeping habits will not only be beneficial for the baby’s health, but also for that of the parents.
In the event that we find that, after much effort, our children still sleep little, we should contact a specialist who will be able to recommend a better treatment. We must always keep in mind that rest is a fundamental element for the growth and development of every child.
