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Establishing a bedtime routine

The Sleep Charity suggests planning out your child’s sleep routine and creating a visual timetable to help them understand each step and reduce anxiety around sleep. Sticking to the same routine and times each day will support your child’s body clock. 

Here is a link to the Sleep Charity website, which  includes an example of a bedtime routine that might be helpful for your child.

• Bedtime Routines
• Sleep cards

Bedroom environment

The sleep charity suggests that your child's bedroom environment could be a factor influencing poor sleep. Below are some strategies to promote better sleep: 

• Incorporate white noise while sleeping, for example, play a video from the Relaxing White Noise YouTube channel Relaxing White Noise or download a white noise app that plays continually throughout the night in the background e.g. White Noise Lite
• Minimise distractions by putting away toys and technology and, create a dark environment using black out blinds
• If a dark environment is too distressing or disorientating for your child, it is recommended to use a soft night lamp in colours such as red, orange or yellow. An example of a lamp is here: Night lamp

For more tips on how to improve your child's bedroom environment click on the link: Bedroom Environment

Eating before bedtime

The Sleep charity suggests that a child’s diet can affect their sleep quality. It is recommended that a light supper containing melatonin-rich foods like bananas, almonds, or yogurt is consumed an hour before bedtime. For more details, click here: Diet & Sleep

This so that your child is less likely to wake up during the night due to feeling hungry.