Does your baby no longer want to sleep alone in his bed, but wants his parents’ bed to stay by your side? Certain bedtime rituals can help him sleep alone in his room. Here is the advice of Sandra Menoni, founder of the night of the little ones, specialist in the sleep of the child from 0 to 6 years.
At birth, many parents practice co-sleeping with baby, to be able to stay closer when he wakes up at night, or to be able to breastfeed him more easily. As babies grow, they gradually learn to sleep independently in their room, but sometimes they only want to fall asleep with their parents. What if baby only wants to sleep in our bed? This is the question answered by Sandra Menoni, baby sleep specialist. Here are his tips.
First of all, it is essential to make the parents feel guilty, because many people sleep with their child, especially because of fatigue. We set up this habit with his child and it becomes his main strategy for falling asleep, so another strategy should be put in place. “There is no right or wrong way to do it, there is only one way to do it that suits us or no longer suits us. If this situation no longer suits us, we will accompany the child to his room, explaining to him that it is a safe place that does not rhyme only with separation.where he plays with mum and dad, where he has happy memories, and that he can always find mum or dad in the night if he needs“, recalls Sandra Menoni.
“There is no right or wrong way to do it, there is only one way to do it that suits us or no longer suits us”.
What rituals to help baby sleep alone in his room?
At the same time, it is important to set up a ritual that constitutes a preliminary stage to falling asleep and which allows the child to refocus and fill his emotional reservoir to prepare him for the night because it is a separation. This is broken down into three stages: feeding, bathing and quiet time in baby’s room.
- “During the bath, we start to dim the lights to allow the secretion of melatonin, the sleep hormone.
- During quiet time in the room, you sit on the floor or in an armchair with your child and you can read a story, look at picture books, put on soft music…
- The night light is interesting because it helps to indicate that bedtime is approaching,” says the baby child sleep consultant.
- Last step, accompany the baby to bed. Some fall asleep on their own, others need help, especially when they go through phases of regression related to teething, illness or major motor acquisitions that can temporarily disrupt sleep.