Sleeping
Here’s what Dr. Ann Corwin, The Parenting Doctor, has to say about Sleeping:
Not getting enough sleep is a very successful form of torture. You will do anything, literally, just to get a few winks. That is understandably why parents do stuff in the night to get their kids back to sleep that they would never do during the day or when they were rested.
First, thing to remember is when you tell your kids it is time to go to bed, what they hear in their childhood brains is that their play and fun has to stop and they will not see their parents anymore.
What we really mean as parents is that we will give our kids a bath, read stories, brush their teeth and get some needed sleep so we’re ready for tomorrow.
As you can see a child’s view of this process is very different than their parents.
SO WHAT’S A PARENT TO DO?
Tell your kids what they want to hear at bedtime. Instead of saying “bedtime”, say, “It’s time to read your favorite stories, splash in some water and get your smile shinning brightly while we listen to some music up in the bathroom”.
Give it a try and just see if your kids don’t look forward to bedtime instead of resisting it.
P.S.
If your child is waking in the night, be sure to not give them incentives to keep getting up by talking to them, touching them or looking at them. Just put them back to bed with their lovey. The lovey tells them that they are not alone, even though they cannot be with their parent when they are sleeping.
Written on January 7, 2010 – 9:00 pm
Posted in Dr. Ann's Column, Dr. Ann's Place for Parents, Elementary School Years, First Year, Hitting, Kindergarten, Lying, Mean Girls, New Baby, Pacifiers, Thumbs, Fingers, Preparing For A New Baby, Preschool, Sharing, Sibling Rivalry, Sorting Out The SuperNanny, Talking Back, Tantrums, The Teen Years, Toddler Years, Toilet Trials, Whining
January of any year is famously all about promises. At the beginning of the year we usually reflect on the last and resolve to change in the year ahead. Change is good, it means we are moving forward and not feeling so stuck. But, where I always get stuck is the ‘talking’ about change instead [...]
Written on October 31, 2009 – 2:56 pm
Posted in Dr. Ann's Column, Dr. Ann's Place for Parents, Elementary School Years, First Year, Hitting, Kindergarten, Lying, Mean Girls, New Baby, Pacifiers, Thumbs, Fingers, Preparing For A New Baby, Preschool, Sharing, Sibling Rivalry, Sorting Out The SuperNanny, Talking Back, Tantrums, The Teen Years, Toddler Years, Toilet Trials, Whining
www.parentsask.com is a new place to go on the Internet to get interesting, informative, and accurate parenting information. It’s a place for you to ask questions about your kids. You talk to other parents, get their opinions and suggestions for any issue you are facing in your family. You can post a question yourself, ask [...]
Written on July 17, 2009 – 10:38 pm
Posted in Dr. Ann's Column, Dr. Ann's Place for Parents, Elementary School Years, First Year, Hitting, Kindergarten, Lying, Mean Girls, New Baby, Pacifiers, Thumbs, Fingers, Preparing For A New Baby, Preschool, Sharing, Sibling Rivalry, Sorting Out The SuperNanny, Talking Back, Tantrums, The Teen Years, Toddler Years, Toilet Trials, Whining
Summer vacation… kids cannot wait and parents look forward to less structure and fun. But by the middle of July, the dreams of carefree summer fun seem to fade. Why?
Kids love to predict: they want to know what’s coming next so they can manage their behavior. Even though it sounds great to just relax, [...]
Written on June 28, 2009 – 11:44 pm
Posted in Dr. Ann's Column, Dr. Ann's Place for Parents, Elementary School Years, First Year, Hitting, Kindergarten, Lying, Mean Girls, New Baby, Pacifiers, Thumbs, Fingers, Preparing For A New Baby, Preschool, Sharing, Sibling Rivalry, Sorting Out The SuperNanny, Talking Back, Tantrums, The Teen Years, Toddler Years, Toilet Trials, Whining
Ever get up “on the wrong side of the bed” and don’t know why?
At one time or another just about everybody experiences not knowing why they feel the way they do. Kids get even more confused than parents do about their feelings. All kids behaviors are in response to some sort of feeling and most [...]
Written on June 11, 2009 – 12:13 am
Posted in Dr. Ann's Column, Dr. Ann's Place for Parents, Elementary School Years, First Year, Hitting, Kindergarten, Lying, Mean Girls, New Baby, Pacifiers, Thumbs, Fingers, Preparing For A New Baby, Preschool, Sharing, Sibling Rivalry, Sorting Out The SuperNanny, Talking Back, Tantrums, The Teen Years, Toddler Years, Toilet Trials, Whining
Fathers should be appreciated all year… not just on one day! While Father’s Day is a tremendous idea, we all need to affirm Dads for their significance every day of the year.
I come from a long line of fantastic fathering men. My grandfathers were both grand fathering me from birth to their deaths. My Dad, [...]
Written on May 8, 2009 – 9:46 pm
Posted in Dr. Ann's Column, Dr. Ann's Place for Parents, Elementary School Years, First Year, Hitting, Kindergarten, Lying, Mean Girls, New Baby, Pacifiers, Thumbs, Fingers, Preparing For A New Baby, Preschool, Sharing, Sibling Rivalry, Sorting Out The SuperNanny, Talking Back, Tantrums, Testimonials, The Teen Years, Toddler Years, Toilet Trials, Uncategorized, Whining
In celebration of Mother’s Day, I’d like to share a special poem with you that was given to me by a mom that I had been working with earlier this year. She was a new mommy having trouble adjusting to being a stay-at-home-mom after the birth of her second child. She came seeking guidelines in [...]
Written on June 5, 2008 – 10:23 am
Posted in Dr. Ann's Place for Parents
Hi Dr. Ann,
My 35 month old boy giggles and laughs for up to 20 minutes after we’ve put him down at night to sleep. Should it be a concern?
Danel Peterson, South Africa
Wow, to have a happy, self assured kid…the greatest gift to sleep. Every single one of us figures out how to fall asleep. Some [...]
Hello Dr Ann
We are having some issues with our 25 month old daughter. Shortly after her second birthday we purchased a dora toddler bed which Ryleigh loved, we also at the same time took away her sucky.
Since then she has been doing amazing with the no sucky situation but has now refused to sleep in [...]
Written on December 14, 2007 – 6:45 pm
Posted in Dr. Ann's Place for Parents, Toddler Years
Hi,
I read a very similiar situation on your site and wondered if you might be able to help with our 2 year old who is waking quite frequently now that we have a new baby.
Amelia took a long time to start to sleep through the night, around 15 months, and was consistent until we had [...]
The needs of an infant, in terms of sleep, are all dictated by their nutritional needs.
Meaning they need to wake up to eat. Every 2 to 3 hours, babies need to wake up because their tummies are small. They need to fill their tummies up, and then in 2 or 3 hours, they’ll wake up [...]
