Very often, young parents are interested in why a child (2 years old) sleeps poorly at night. When will he learn to relax from evening to morning? Even today
parents who blame the evil eye or some mysterious forces, resorting to conspiracies and other tricks to make the child sleep through the whole night without
breaks. But what really prevents the little man from resting calmly all night?
Most often, by the end of the first year of life, the child can already sleep without breaks all night. But there are children who need more time to learn this skill. According to statistics, out of five children, at least one child 1-2 years old does not sleep well at night. Including such behavior can be a manifestation of the character of this baby. Active, restless children are able to wake up from any extraneous sounds, while it can be very difficult to fall asleep again. Yes, and time for
such children need much less rest, so they wake up very early.
Of course, nights spent trying to lay a crying or laughing child do not pass unnoticed for the family as a whole. Parents feel tired and, as a result, annoyed. Annoyed by the child, and partner, and home or work. That is why it is necessary to start accustoming the child to sleep all night as early as possible. However, they do not wave their fists after the fight, and if the child (2 years old) does not sleep well at night, it is important to urgently find out why and decide what to do about it.
Causes
Most often, problems arise not only directly with a night's sleep, but also with falling asleep. That is, in principle, waking up at night for children of this age
fine. But most kids, realizing that it’s not time to get up, fall asleep themselves. A child who has trouble sleeping cannot fall asleep on his own. It is also difficult to lay him in the evening. What could be the reason?
- Pain, hunger, thirst. All these three needs are predominant and will not let the child fall asleep.
- Crucial moment. Like an adult, a child in a dream experiences what happened to him in a day. Therefore, if something important happened in his life -
I went to kindergarten, changed my place of residence, a new member of the family, etc., was added, - you can’t wait for a good sleep.
- Reluctance to sleep. Indeed, it is very difficult to fall asleep if you are not tired enough or went to bed too early.
- Mom’s condition. It has long been proven that the child subtly feels the state of the mother, therefore, if she is depressed, excited, upset, the child in most
cases will sleep poorly.
- Discomfort. Perhaps the pajamas are already small for the baby and make it difficult to feel comfortable. Or he did not have time to ask for a pot: a child (2 years) does not sleep well at night if his bed is wet.
- External factors. When the light is on, the noise level is high, it is difficult for the child to fall asleep and there is a much higher probability that he will wake up during the night.
If it is not possible to completely isolate the child from such influences, it is necessary to make them as less noticeable as possible.
- Activity. If a child played active or emotional games before going to bed, do not wait for him to sleep soundly. Even if under the influence of fatigue he falls asleep quickly, he will wake up more than once during the night, reliving emotional moments.
- Fear. A 2-year-old child does not sleep well at night, cries, screams for another serious reason - if he is used to being with his mother all the time, and now he has to be
alone in his crib. If before that, the baby was sleeping with her, perhaps he is not yet ready for an independent sleep. If, for some reason, mom is forced to be absent, well, you will have to listen to the child’s complaints for several nights.
Necessity
Sometimes it’s hard to understand if the child really doesn’t want to sleep, or he just plays a lot. If you really don’t want to, it’s pointless to force it, it’s easiest
to make the child sleep poorly at night. 2 years is a great enough age to have an opinion and the right to be heard. To understand whether the child really does not want to sleep, you need to know how many hours of sleep at what age is required. The daily need for, for example, three-month-old children is 16-20 hours. By six months, the child has enough 14.5 hours to feel good. By the year this figure is reduced to 13.5 hours, in two it is enough and 13. Four-year-old children sleep 11.5 hours a day, six-year-olds - 9.5. By the age of 12, children in their need for sleep approach adult indicators - 8.5 hours. And do not forget that this calculation is given for a day. That is, if the two-year-old sleeps 4 hours during the day, you can count on a good rest at night. If you let him sleep longer, then at night he will catch up with those hours that he did not play during the day. If the child does not sleep well at night (2 years), Komarovsky advises reviewing his daytime regimen. It is likely that he simply pours in the daytime.
Daily regime
An important role in a healthy sleep of a child is played by his daily routine. If a child (2 years old) sleeps poorly at night, there is a disturbed daily regimen. To accustom a child to the family schedule is necessary from birth. You need to prepare for bed in advance. The time at which the child should go to bed should be unchanged. At the same time, it should be comfortable not only for the child himself, but also suit his parents so that there are no disagreements.
Children's Day should be saturated with positive events. Of course, it’s not at all necessary to arrange entertaining shows for him all day.
It is quite enough to actively walk, play outdoor and educational games. If possible, put your child in the fresh air for a nap. In the evening, it is necessary to limit the emotional and physical stress, offering the child calm games like sculpting or decorating.
Food
Perhaps this will seem strange to someone, but if a child (2 years old) does not sleep well at night, it may be the wrong diet. From a biological point of view, nocturnal feedings have been needed since 6 months. Therefore, if a child (2 years old) sleeps poorly at night and requires food, this does not mean that he is really hungry. Most likely, he does it simply out of habit, or he wants to communicate. The more actively parents satisfy these requirements, the more firmly this behavior model settles in the child’s brain. At night, feeding is best avoided. Firstly, the habit of eating at night did not bring anyone to good, and secondly, a full stomach can be the next cause of sleep disturbances.
In the first dinner (the penultimate meal), it is better to slightly feed the baby, so that in the final day of dinner, fill his stomach. Nevertheless, this must be done without fanaticism - the last meal should be at least 2 hours before bedtime. Supper is best served with fruit, cereal, a small amount of meat and dairy products. Sweets eaten in the evening will add activity to the child and interfere with healthy sleep.
Place to sleep
Of course, every mother knows what is best for her baby. However, if the child does not sleep well at night, often wakes up (2 years), this may mean that his place to sleep is not the most suitable. Checking this is easy - just follow the recommendations of experts and see if it will bring results.
Pediatricians believe that for a child up to a year, the ideal place is a separate bed in the parent's bedroom. However, they are ready to agree that the same place
Suitable for many children under three years of age. But still, most of the children, doctors say, are better off staying in their own crib in the children's room from the age of one. Specialists are extremely negative about sleeping together. Of course, this phenomenon takes place, but nevertheless it can hardly be called healthy for both the child and the mother.
Help sleep
In order to avoid complaints that the child (2 years) does not sleep well at night, it is necessary to make sleeping and falling asleep comfortable. So, shortly before bedtime, it is advisable to ventilate the room without creating drafts. The preferred temperature in the room is + 18-20 degrees. If it is too hot or cold, it will be difficult for the child to fall asleep. In addition, it is worth paying attention to air humidity: 60-70% will be comfortable. Promotes a good night's sleep while taking a bath with aromatic oils or herbs. Comfortable pajamas, a dry diaper, a suitable pillow - these are the things that the baby will definitely appreciate.
It is advisable to create some kind of ritual that sets the baby to a restful sleep:
- One and a half hours before bedtime it’s good to walk with the child. It is desirable that he does not run around the yard, namely calmly walked around.
- Dinner should be at about the same time, not too dense, but not so that the child feels hunger.
- Taking a bath. Foam, a pleasant smell from aromatic oils or herbal infusions will help the child’s nervous system to calm down, muscles to relax.
- Fairy tale. All children love to be read before bedtime. Often right at this time they fall asleep. But even if the story was heard to the end, it finally makes the child understand that it is time to sleep.
This is an approximate list of calming actions that will help your baby fall asleep. Of course, no one forbids adding something of their own or removing any of
items available.
Not sleeping
It happens that, despite all the efforts, the child (2 years) does not sleep well at night. In this case, you will have to resort to various tricks, which, if they do not make the baby sleep, but allow him to just quietly sit in his crib, without interfering with the crying of the whole family:
- It is worth laying the child early, this will provide an opportunity to relax in the evening, if he wakes you up early in the morning.
- Do everything so that the baby loves spending time in the crib, then he can, waking up, just play it, without disturbing others.
- Spend maximum of daytime with the child, hug more often, this will calm him down, inspire confidence that he will be loved and will not be abandoned. With such certainty, he is not
will be afraid to sleep alone in the room.
- Gradually, while feeding the baby, place a soft toy next to it. Gradually, she will begin to symbolize parental warmth for him, and will sleep with her
comfortable and calm.
Help in sleep
The answer to the question why a 2-year-old child does not sleep well at night can be very simple: he does not feel protected. Kids need to feel that parents will always help, at any time of the day. Therefore, when a small child cries, you must definitely approach him, so he will know that you can be trusted. At the same time, it is very important to learn how to help your baby fall asleep again at night.
- Despite the fact that it is necessary to approach a crying child , you need to do this not at the same second, giving the baby the opportunity to fall asleep on his own. If his crying is quiet, he may not wake up to the end. If he really needs you, he can "add sound."
- Approaching the crib, make sure that the child was not awakened by extraneous sounds, light, a wet diaper.
- You need to solve the problem quietly and quickly. Instead of picking it up in your arms or in your bed, it’s better to just stroke the baby on the back.
If a child of 2.5 years sleeps poorly at night, calm, measured actions of parents will help him cope with emotions and continue to rest until the morning.
The rules of sleep Komarovsky
Already more than one generation of children grew up on the advice of Dr. Komarovsky. The famous pediatrician has recommendations for any occasion. If a child (2 years) sleeps poorly at night, use the rules of the famous doctor, which contribute to a quiet night's rest:
- Do not forget about your needs. The doctor believes that for any child the most important thing is a happy family. Happy - this is also a good night's sleep. A
it means that Komarovsky’s first advice concerns parents: be sure to get enough sleep.
- A clear daily routine. As mentioned above, for a stable baby sleep, proper organization of the whole day is necessary. Following a clear schedule gives
child a sense of security and confidence.
- With whom to sleep. According to Komarovsky, every family member should have a place to sleep. He does not consider the joint sleep of children with parents to be useful.
“You don't need too much.” If the child sleeps too long during the day, he needs to be woken up so that he can rest at all necessary time.
- Optimize feeding. Do not overfeed the child, do not allow snacks. Feeding should occur at the same time, evening meal should
be nutritious but not heavy. The situation when a child is 2 years old, does not sleep well at night, cries, very often occurs precisely against the background of overeating.
- Spend the day right. Move a lot, play outdoor games, read books, walk.
- The air. The room in which the child sleeps must be ventilated daily. If possible, before nightly rest, do wet cleaning and purchase
humidifier.
- The bed. The child's mattress should be dry, even, evenly stuffed. Kids up to 2-3 years old do not need pillows at all. Older children can
put a thin pillow. Bed linen should only be natural. Wash it with baby detergents.
- Diapers. Diapers should be breathable, moisture-proof, suitable for the baby in size and model.
Health
If the child’s sleep is disturbed due to colic or toothache, it’s best not to experiment, but to consult a doctor. In addition, medical problems can be the reason that mothers come with complaints to the doctor. The child is 2 years old, sleeps very badly at night, often wakes up, falls asleep badly - all this must be discussed with the doctor. In addition, tell the regimen of the day of the baby, then the doctor will be able to give advice or even prescribe sedatives.