Your 1-year-old cries so hard when you put him to bed that he actually throws up. Your 2-year-old still doesn't sleep through the night. Your 2-and-a-half-year-old shares your bed, or perhaps your 3-year-old wakes in the middle of the night screaming bloody murder.
Sound familiar? If these toddler sleep issues don't ring true yet, they probably will someday. Such toddler sleep problems are the bane of many a parent's existence.
Undercover in a Kid's Online WorldBy Sharon Duke EstroffWhat one mom learned in her journey through kiddie cyberspace - and what every concerned parent needs to know In the middle of a playdate with one of his best buddies a few months ago, my then-8-year-old came over and asked me how to spell penguin. "Penguin?" I asked, puzzled. "As in Mr. Popper's Penguins?" "No," Jake clarified. "As in Club Penguin. We want to play, but we can't get to the Website." And just like that, my third grader's age of digital innocence ended, as...
Read the Undercover in a Kid's Online World article > >While most toddler sleep issues are related to ages and stages, sometimes underlying health or psychological problems may be at play. Regardless of the nocturnal nuisance, sound sleep solutions abound, experts tell WebMD.? Here are some common troubling toddler sleep scenarios and our experts' opinions on how to effectively troubleshoot them.
Sound sleep solution: Getting your child to sleep through the night is a common and challenging toddler sleep problem. Troubleshooting this one depends on your child's age and whether or not the child has stopped sleeping through the night out of the blue, explains Susan Zafarlotfi, PhD, the clinical director of the Institute for Sleep and Wake Disorders at the Hackensack University Medical Center in New Jersey.
For example, she says, "Young toddlers may wake up from teething or they may be sick." In general, "parents need to step back and see what has happened in recent weeks in their toddlers' lives. Is there a new bed?? A new sibling? A change in caregivers? Is the child taking a longer nap?"?
If waking up is just a habit and unrelated to teething or any other health issues or changes, "intervene by delaying bedtime 15 to 20 minutes to attempt to make them more tired," she says.
If your tot calls out to you during these middle-of-the-night caterwauls, "you can go into their room and comfort them with a lullaby, soft music, or any other soothing routine that you use at nighttime," she says. "Assure them that they are OK and leave their room."
If this scenario happens night after night after night, delay going into their room to soothe them by five minutes each night, she suggests.
Sound sleep solution: Should you really just let your toddler cry it out? Often called Ferberizing, this method may seem cruel to some parents, especially if the child cries himself or herself sick. Other parents swear by it.
"It's very hard to do, but we know of no negative effects of using the Ferber method," says Mary Michaeleen Cradock, PhD, a clinical psychologist with St. Louis Children's Hospital in Missouri. Often times, one parent can handle the wailing and the other one simply cannot, she says. "If you are letting your child cry it out, one of you may want to go to the gym or put on their iPod while the other deals with the crying." Be prepared to stay committed to this strategy for four to five nights.
No comments:
Post a Comment