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Avoid the bedtime blues by synchronizing those clocks

Posted by Dr Sandy on in kids | 1690 Views | Leave a response

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How to avoid bedtime resistance in your pre-schooler

a toddler not ready to go to bed

Bedtime should be magical bonding time, reflections of the day, fairytales & kisses. What happens most nights is not magical. You’re a victim of biology….

You want bedtime, to be a magical bonding time – reflections of the day, fairytales & kisses.

What happens most nights is not magical.

Each night, as bedtime looms, you feel like you step into the twighlight zone, your sweet little “angel”, turns into a “monster”.

The nice word to describe what happens, is bedtime resistance.

The faces of bedtime resistance

Bedtime resistance, is more common than one would think – 25 % of little ones are having trouble going off to sleep.

  • Some kids just REFUSE. The “I AM NOT GOING” message is accompanied by loud outbursts and sulking. The resulting tantrum is never pretty.
  • Some kids REFUSE more subtly. They go through the motions – but drag out the process. They need, another story. Then they need a glass of water. Then they need the bathroom. (No Mom in her right mind can disregard this one).
  • Some kids GO TO BED quietly. You’ve put them to bed, but when you turn around, they’re out of bed and under your feet.

the faces of bedtime resistance

Bedtime RESISTANCE – can cause YOU to crumble.

Slip sliding away

And it can be an ominous sign of things to come…. because brain’s need sleep to clean up.

Sleep problems in little ones, can lead to…..

  • Weight troubles
  • Academic troubles
  • Behaviour troubles
  • A life time of being an insomniac

So why do little angels, turn into demons at bedtime ?

Because they’re not sleepy

Duh !

women choosing her bedtimeAs an adult, you get to turn in when you’re tired. Unless you have way too much to do, then you keep going, until you finish or pass out from exhaustion. The point is…. it is ultimately your CALL.

Although your boss can have a great deal of influence !

The time your toddler / pre-schooler goes to bed is ALSO, your CALL. The trouble is, your CALL may not line up with your little one’s biology.mom adjusting her toddler's body clock

This is the finding of a group of researchers from CU-Boulder.

The body’s bedtime

For a body to be ready to go to bed – the night valet, melatonin needs to come on duty.

The principle applies to BIG bodies and little bodies.

The Boulders team, decided to track melatonin levels in a group of healthy toddlers. The idea was to ascertain when little ones were biologically “sleepy” and to relate this to bedtime behaviours.

Don’t worry – no toddler was harmed in the experiment. Melatonin levels were measured in the child’s saliva. The saliva sample was gathered by a team of “sleep fairies”, who persuaded several of the children in the study, to chew on a dry dental cotton roll and then spit it out, several times on a single evening.

Sleep fairies, maybe they were magicians !

Bedtime is relative

Biological bed time was highly variable, each child was a little different. For most of the kids, the peak happened around 7.40 pm.

variable biological clocks

  • When Mom’s bedtime, matched the child’s biological clock – bedtime was an enjoyable experience. In a jiffy, junior was cavorting in dreamland.
  • When Mom’s bedtime did not match the child’s biological clock – the going to bed was DIFFICULT. Falling a sleep took 40-60 minutes.

The bigger the mismatch, the worse the experience……

Obey the biological clock

Don’t worry, this does not mean, your toddler decides when to go to bed. You still get to be the PARENT, but you need to supervise the activities of melatonin.

Fortunately, this is not that hard to do.

Melatonin is a hormonal wimp. He is scared of his own shadow. When there is blue light around – melatonin hides in his special cupboard, the pineal gland.  He only ventures out, when it is dark or the prevailing lights, have a reddish tinge.

Managing melatonin

Make sure your little one is exposed to sunlight, early in the morning.

This sends melatonin scurrying for cover, signalling the brain when the day has started. The brain is then able to judge when bedtime should happen – it knows little brains need at least ten plus hours of sleep, each night.

Then…….. in the hour or so before you want junior to GO TO BED, limit their exposure to blue light – that means,

  • no TV,
  • no playing with your tablet or cell phone.

Also,  avoid stimulating activities.

Dim the lights.

If  you can, do story time by candle light.

Avoid the bedtime blues

Don’t be a victim of biology, synch your child’s body clock with bedtime. You’ve got the power to avoid those bedtime blues.

PS. If you use a night light in the room – only red light nights can protect kids from the boogeyman

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Dissonance Between Parent-Selected Bedtimes and Young Children’s Circadian Physiology Influences Nighttime Settling Difficulties. Mind, Brain, and Education (2013) 7 (4): 234 Monique K. LeBourgeois, Kenneth P. Wright, Hannah B. LeBourgeois, Oskar G. Jenni. 

Further reading

an iron fist prevents childhood obesity

Small kids need UNCOOL mothers who RULE with an iron fist

Moms who impose an early BEDTIME and then become THE ENFORCER can protect their little one from becoming a childhood obesity statistic.

different bed times creating mischief

Bright sparks go to bed at the same time every night

There is more to sleep than just getting the quota, getting it in at a consistent time, is critical for developing brains. irregular bedtimes tire little brains

working mom serving dinner later

Why being a working Mom puts your child at risk of childhood obesity

There is more to sleep than just getting the quota, getting it in at a consistent time, is critical for developing brains. irregular bedtimes tire little brains

 

Want to discover more ways to create BETTER BODY CHEMISTRY ?

Posted in kids | Tagged bedtime, bedtime resistance, blue light, clean up, clock, light, melatonin, pineal gland, sleep

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Located in Johannesburg, South Africa

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