10 Sleep Remedies by Hannah Dent

As its Little Hiccups' 10th Birthday this year we have asked our families for 10 Things that help them in day to day life. Hannah Dent shares 10 Sleep remedies that she uses to get her child to sleep on an evening. We all know how important sleep is for you and your child but the truth is that if you have a child with additional needs you're probably not getting enough! There is no end to the amount of advice that you can find but its important that you find one that works for you and your family. Here are Hannah's:

1. Bath your child after dinner in the early evening allowing time for your child to come back down from splish splash fun. Then start the bedtime routine downstairs.
2. Half a banana about 30 minutes before bed with a glass of warm milk. (More for getting them through the night).
   
3. Don't take anyone else's advice to the letter you will find your own way within the advice.
   
4. If it's not working and you've tried and I mean really tried to follow a Super Nanny course of bedtime routine then abandon it to another remedy.
   
5. Treat bedtime as an all night event.  We all want that day to end and bed time to come...Now!!! However that pressure to make it quick and easy will allude to missed routine,  forgotten important steps and anxious kids. Treat it like you're in for the long haul and you probably won't be.
   
6. Sensitive children like to use their senses to go to sleep.  Many use weighted blankets, some use safe spaces, others teddies, some wriggle their legs as if restless and some like mine like to have massages of the feet and nails tickling their arms and back. We call it nails and the circular motion is enough for him to relax into sleep.
7. A child that leaves their bed after lights out.. lie with them on the floor, I've two old sofa cushions I prop against the radiator and sit until he's reassured enough to sleep. (The longhaul).
8. Don't try and exercise them to sleep with  big long walks/park etc..Endorphins wake you up.
   
9. Keep a sleep record so you can try and identify the worst days and the causes.
   
10. Remember you're in it for the long haul.  If you're 3 hours into a long sleepless stretch that's starting to build tension between parent and child  then break off. Go back downstairs and do what I call baby checks. Are they hungry, are they the right temperature,  are they ill, did your husband let them nap earlier 😂😂😂. Read a book, play some relaxing music then try again.

Do you have any hint and tips for life with a child with additional needs? Please email Miriam on info@littlehiccups.co.uk to share them.