I am a huge fan of routines to help children learn good habits. A bedtime routine is one of the best, most effective ways of helping your child to get a good night's sleep. It may seem really weird to start early, but at around 2 months babies can be introduced to a calming, winding down bedtime routine. You can change the elements of the routine as they grow but keeping the main idea and sequence of events- going upstairs, having a bath, getting into nightclothes and then sharing a close, relaxing activity with your child. When my son was a baby, hubby and I learnt baby massage, it was a lovely way to feel close to him and he loved it. We had the same song every night so that it 'cued' sleep. He loves bedtime even now- stories, him reading to us, a chat and cuddle have replaced the massage and song.
But routines are good for loads of other things too- getting dressed, mealtimes, homework- the key is the sequence rather than the exact timing, content, and location.
And on the subject of sleep a new study suggests it's good for children's school readiness too (an Australian study- see http://bit.ly/Ap38Dc) Not surprisingly children concentrate better when they've had enough sleep.
Seeing the rapid decline in my son's behaviour when he's not had enough sleep (and it only has to be a couple of later nights to do it) is astounding- he turns into a screaming, intolerant irritable mess- and I wonder if lots of so-called behavioural problems are down to not enough sleep. In my clinical practice I routinely ask about sleep and tackle that first if it's an issue.
Sleep well!
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