How to encourage your baby to nap
Babies who nap regularly throughout the day are more likely to sleep well at night, but what if your baby doesn’t want to nap while the sun is out? Here are a few tips to smooth the way for more successful daytime napping.
Be consistent in your actions
“At such a young age, your child does not understand what you say and relies on what you do. As such, your actions need to be consistent. They start to understand cause and effect around four months, when sleep regression becomes a reality,” advises Erica Lotter, Cape Town-based sleep training specialist, and owner of Mom's Lifeline.
Introduce a comfort item they can access themselves
“When the brain shuts down it is imperative that the body follows suit and be inactive as well, or the body will not produce melatonin, which is the sleep hormone. As such, it helps to introduce something that assists your baby to remain calm and docile, and they are able to reach for themselves, e.g. a blanket, sleep friend, etc. If you use rocking to get them back to sleep, they will get used to this mode of comfort, and will request it to relax again, thereby roping you back into the loop,” recommends Erica.
Check on a crying child but be prepared not to intervene
“A crying child is a child in need, but don’t forget that they don’t understand the difference between a need and a want at such a young age. So if they cry, you have to determine if your child needs something. Go check, but if you see all is well and they just want to be picked up, leave and return in short intervals. This will assist in your child in learning the difference in response that occurs when they need you (e.g. for a wet nappy) versus when they are bored and could rest on their own,” suggests Erica
Don’t show your frustration
“Develop a clinical approach towards sleep time - this will enable you to refrain from becoming frustrated, angry or emotional when putting kids or babies to bed. Remember, babies do not have emotions of their own at such a young age; they make your emotions theirs, so if you are frustrated they become frustrated. If you raise your voice to your kids, you lose control of the situation. Remain calm and collected when putting your child down to sleep,” advises Erica.
IMAGE CREDIT: shutterstock.com