Why is sleep routine important?

Posted On July 11, 2017

How important is it to establish a good sleep routine for your child? The answer is quite simple. It plays a major part in their well being & overall health. Sleep routine might work well with some child but not everyone.

When I started a proper bedtime routine for my daughter, it didn’t go well until a week. But being consistent and repeating the same old schedule would help your child to get into the mood eventually.

It takes consistency and a well-planned routine for yourself too. If you are physically and mentally stable, you can cope with other situations very well. It takes a load of hard work and effort to tackle your child’s meltdowns and your emotional breakdown through the process. Therefore, it’s essential to organise everything in advance.

I felt my 8 months old was more than ready when I decided it’s time to put her on a good sleep/bedtime routine. She used to have those exhausted and sleepy eyes every time after her dinner which was usually around 9 p.m. and goes to bed late at around 11. She even used to wake up earlier than her bedtime which was around 8 a.m. I knew she was not getting enough sleep to function well at the daytime. Hence, I decided to make a change in her sleep pattern.

At the first week, after her dinner, I gave her a warm bath, massaged her, read her book, sung her lullaby, turned off the light, breastfed her and put her to the bed. As I co-sleep with her, I stayed with her for few minutes in the bed and left her after 20 minutes after she slept.

I carried this process for a week or so until it became habitual. It worked well with her. She used to fall asleep at around 8:00-8:30 p.m every night.

Some days are not smooth and as planned. There are times when she would not fall asleep until late at night. And it’s ok. It’s not always necessary to put your little one to the bed exactly at 8 p.m. It’s the only guidance set out by the experts so that your little one gets enough sleep.

A good night sleep doesn’t mean it has to be at a certain time. It’s adequate if your little one gets the recommended amount of sleep for the day as per her age. According to the experts from National sleep foundation, the appropriate sleep duration for all age group children are somewhat like this:

Newborns (0-3 months): Sleep range narrowed to 14-17 hours each day (previously it was 12-18)
Infants (4-11 months): Sleep range widened two hours to 12-15 hours (previously it was 14-15)
Toddlers (1-2 years): Sleep range widened by one hour to 11-14 hours (previously it was 12-14)
Preschoolers (3-5): Sleep range widened by one hour to 10-13 hours (previously it was 11-13)
School-age children (6-13): Sleep range widened by one hour to 9-11 hours (previously it was 10-11)

From the above lists, we can see the sleep range differs from newborns to school-age children. This guide will help us to determine the good sleep habit of the children. It’s better if we could stick to this guide. A good sleep means better performance, good behaviour and well being of your child.