Children Who Won’t Sleep

Every parent’s worst nightmare is the fear of lack of sleep. If you are the parent of a child who suffers from sleep disturbance then you know only too well how wearing and draining this can be.

As a single parent, who may be the only adult in the house having to deal with sleep issues, it can be an even more daunting experience as you have no one with whom to share the burden of a restless night. Remember if there has recently been a change in your household circumstances, such that you have found yourself as the sole parent, then much of the problem could be related to feelings of insecurity and these may need to be addressed with lots of reassurance.

But there are things you can do to try and resolve or improve the situation if you are the parent of a child who won’t go to sleep at bedtime and/or wakes regularly through the night.

When trying to work out why your child is having sleeping issues, firstly ensure that there are no problems with the physical environment which could be causing the problem so check the following: Is it warm enough? Is it too light or too dark? Is the cot/bed comfortable? Is there enough fresh air? Is it too noisy?
Once you are satisfied that the environment is not the problem then it may be that you need to think about the bedtime routine (if you don’t have one) and how you deal with your child waking in the night - as it could be they are simply seeking comfort and know they will get it if they cry out for you!
A bedtime routine should be comforting and calming. It could involve a warm bath and a warm drink or reading a story in bed.
If you child does wake in the night try not to get into the habit of providing a comfort drink, too many cuddles, or bringing them into your own bed. Be firm, but reassuring. Insist that the child must return to their bed or stay in their bed and keep reinforcing this in a positive way until the child responds.

One thing to always remember! DO NOT forget about your own health and well being, chronic lack of sleep will severley impact your own ability to deal with day to day life, from work to coping at home. Be firm and consistent in your approach, make the routine normative and familiar to the child. Remember you may have a few difficult nights to go through but the end result should be a full night’s sleep for you and your child.

Once you have tried to resolve the situation yourself remember you can always seek help from a professional if you just can’t succeed. If the prolonged lack of sleep is causing your child to become unwell or to fall behind at school and/or if lack of sleep is causing persistent problems that are distressing you then talk to your GP and/or health visitor and enlist some additional support and guidance.