How to help your under 12 year old child get enough sleep — Tips for Your Kids Better Sleep!
If your child is not sleeping regularly, they aren’t the only one. However, there could be a reason behind it. here are some things to try before you talk to your doctor about why your preteen isn’t sleeping.
Set a Bedtime Routine:
Bedtime routines are essential to helping your child start good sleep habits for the rest of their life. A routine for bedtime can include anything from getting their book bag ready for the next day of school to brushing their teeth to reading out loud together. It doesn’t have to be anything fancy, and you absolutely should tailor it to each kid.
Limit Evening Screen Time
Whenever possible, keep your child off of the computer, television and their cell phones in the evenings. These electronic devices have screens that emit blue spectrum light that can delay production of melatonin – the chemical that makes you sleepy – for up to 4 hours after using this. That could mean that even though you set a reasonable bedtime, your child will have trouble falling asleep.
If you want to make sure that your child gets time to relax, try switching around their homework and relaxation schedule so that’s they get to relax for a little while with their devices before they start their homework. If they are feeling tired after school regularly, try letting them nap before they start their work. This can even improve their focus on their homework in the long run!
Avoid Late Night Snacks
It’s well-known that spicy food that your child is not used to eating can cause indigestion. when they have indigestion while they sleep, this disrupts their sleep because they will need to get up and go to the restroom or take medicine to calm their indigestion. This goes for other snacks as well, because if they eat later in the evening, they are almost certainly going to need to use the restroom in the middle of the night. This disrupts their REM cycle and makes it harder for them to feel rested the next day.
If they need a snack in the middle of the night or after a late night game, try something like cereal with milk the combination of dairy and carbohydrates helps to activate the tryptophan and in both foods and will make them feel sleepy faster than any other kind of food – as long as they aren’t lactose intolerant.
Make Bedroom Sleep Conducive
If your child is struggling to sleep on a regular basis, there might be something in their room that is causing the problem or exacerbating it. you should make sure that their bedding is comfortable for them and that there are as few distractions visible as possible.
Out of sight, out of mind is a good policy to have when it comes to any toys that light up or are known to be a distraction. It’s also a good policy when it comes to cell phones if your child has one in order to make it easier for them to avoid it when they can’t sleep.
This helpful information is presented by 
