If your child is used to sleeping with their parents, breaking the habit can be difficult even after they have reached a fully conscious age. It's good if the baby at a certain stage of development goes into his own bed on his own initiative. But more often, parents have to make an effort to organize a comfortable sleep for the child separately from them.
Necessary
- - Separate sleeping place (cot or children's ottoman);
- - night light;
- - baby bedding;
- - toy.
Instructions
Step 1
Three years of age is considered the most optimal for moving to a separate bed. The child already feels like a person, who now has his own bed at his disposal.
Step 2
Try to stimulate the child's interest in the place where he will sleep from now on. For a boy, you can buy a bed in the shape of a car or a ship, and the girl will be enchanted by a crib with a fabulous canopy. Buy bedding with a funny print of your favorite cartoon characters. You can install a "magic" night light in the child's recreation area, projecting moving pictures onto the ceiling. It is good if the baby can himself take part in the selection of parts for arranging his new bed.
Step 3
For the first time, put the crib near yours or even very close to it. Once your baby is comfortable with the new space, you can move the crib to the desired distance. To get started, try putting your baby in his bed during the daytime.
Step 4
Observance of "rituals" before bed is of great importance for any child. Such a ritual can be a light relaxing massage or taking a bath, reading a book, sharing impressions of the day lived. The child should understand that you have not changed your affection for him, although you no longer spend the night together.
Step 5
It is somewhat more difficult to teach a baby to sleep in a separate room. For example, fear of the dark can interfere. If one of the parents spends several nights with the child in his room, the baby will make sure that nothing terrible will happen to him here.
Step 6
In the case when the child does not want to fall asleep separately, you can put him in the parent's bed, having carried out all the usual laying rituals, and transfer the already asleep child to the nursery.
Step 7
Children usually calm down when they smell their mother's scent. Put a thing with your scent in the crib if your child does not perceive the need to sleep separately from mom.
Step 8
Try to use this technique: when putting the baby to sleep in his crib, walk away for a few minutes, explaining to the baby your leaving with some important matter. For this time, leave the child's favorite toy in your place, "entrusting" her with taking care of the baby. When you return, be sure to thank the toy for its help. Gradually, the child will get used to sleeping with a toy associated with his mother's image.
Step 9
Be sure to talk to your child about what exactly prevents him from sleeping separately, then weaning from sleeping together will be painless for all members of your family.
