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Floor Beds for Positive Sleep Habits for Your Child
Depending on the personality of your child, children struggle the most through changes or transitions. When
children are first born they may begin by sleeping in their parents’ bed or in a bassinet, or a co-sleeper close to
their parents’ bed. They may begin sleeping right away in a crib, as they are not yet very mobile. Once children
are mobile though, the crib can become a negative barrier that keeps children from the movement they require
to develop positively- both physically, mentally, and emotionally.
Children, especially infants and toddlers are developing at an amazingly fast rate. The human child moves
through a million years of evolution in just twelve to sixteen months! Most notably around major milestones,
you may see your child’s sleep patterns changing.
The younger children are when we offer freedom in movement, the more they learn about moving safely. The
more safe movement opportunities we offer children, the more children trust us and trust themselves. If safety
is your major concern, then placing a safety gate at your child’s door (or at any adjoining space that may pose
a safety hazard) is a good solution. Giving your child the opportunity to wake and move and work when they
are not sleepy, and the ability to access their own bed when they are tired or want to rest helps children see
rest as a positive response to being tired, rather than a punishment that they will want to fight.
While it is not easy to say no to your child (or even better ‘yes’ to sleep), helping children develop positive
sleeping habits at a young age (six to twelve months is ideal), makes future sleep and nighttime peacefulness
for the whole family a reality much sooner and more easily. Children thrive on learning, challenging, and using
boundaries, so giving them a boundary that may be difficult for us and them emotionally, builds a safety net for
them and your family that lasts a lifetime.
How to Begin
>Place a crib mattress, or even better, a twin mattress (that will last for many years) on the floor along a wall in
your child’s sleeping space. You can utilize bolsters as needed along any edges you feel your child could
bump against.
>Make your child’s bed inviting with bed sheets that are fun and a waterproof mattress pad underneath
>A basket of books nearby is handy and an adult pillow for you and/or your partner to rest on next to your child
>Place colorful objects or pictures within eyesight of the bed, along with a nightlight that is dark enough to
sleep with, but also bright enough to move around with
>For older children make the introduction to their new bed an exciting one
>Decide upon your bedtime routine and stick to it! (ie- bath—pajamas—brush teeth—toilet—two books---two
minute cuddle—‘mommy/daddy goes to their bed to sleep’)
>Initially your child will try to come to you, but a few reminders that ‘it is time for you to be in your bed and me
to be in my bed’ should help your child stay in their bed. This could end up being ten or twenty reminders if you
have let your child co-sleep beyond walking and talking, or it may be just a few reminders and your child is so
tired that they fall asleep. There could be big crying and big screams and there is the possibility that your child
needs you to physically carry them or hold them in their bed for a few minutes. This moment can be very
difficult at first, but keep remembering that you are making the best choice for your child and your family by
helping your child to rest in their own bed.
Breast Feeding & Sleep Training
Sleep training a child who is not yet weaned can make the new boundary even more difficult, but again healthy
boundaries are important for healthy families. The younger you begin good boundaries the better.
When you are still breast feeding or bottle feeding, just add ‘have a nursey or some milk’ into your routine and
warn your child that, ‘we will have a nursey and then Mommy is going to sleep in her bed’. ‘We will have
another nursey in the morning’.
If the habit of breast feeding through the night is no longer necessary healthwise and is interrupting sleep, the
involvement of your partner is very important for this transition. Give yourself a goal…’I won’t breastfeed him
until 12am tonight’ and if he wakes and needs to be comforted, your partner needs to be the one to do it,
maybe with a glass of water or a particular song or a snack helps your child back to sleep... (Ideally all night
time eating and milk stops before age two as this can lead to obesity and tooth decay.) Once you get the
12pm routine down, go until 1am, then 2am.
Yes, your partner will be losing sleep now, but the effort is an investment in everyone’s sleep and you have
been the one up in the night for many months now. It is important to take turns and it’s easier for an infant/child
to go to sleep without the temptation of breast milk in reach. And it is very difficult as a mother (a sleepy
mother!) to say no to breastfeeding when you know it will make your child happy and quiet.
If during the bedtime routine or during the comforting during nighttime wake ups, you or your partner falls
asleep, try to get up and return to your bed as soon as you notice your child is asleep again. They will begin to
love the feeling of sleeping in their own bed and start to prefer it
Eventually, you all will make it until 6am sleeping without interruption and you will all feel sooo good!
Resources:
http://aidtolife.org/movement/movement1a.htm