Sleeping Through The Night

Almost all parents run into problems with babies that will not sleep through the night. Some babies do this early on and some never do. You have to work with what is going on with your child to up the chances of them sleeping through the night. There could be some really simple reasons why they won't sleep or keep waking up, and some of them may be of your own doing. Do not worry, however, as you are the parent and you will figure it out. Remember, as long as you are loving your child, anything is possible and any misstep can be fixed.

Newborns rarely sleep all night. This is because when they are small, all they can do is eat, sleep, and grow. They have to eat every so often or they will not thrive. Some babies sleep longer, and you may find that after the first month or so, they sleep six hours. That is not a whole night, but it is better than getting up every two hours. As they get older, sleeping through the night is something they will do when their bodies allow them to do so. If they need to eat, they are going to wake up.

A one year old should be sleeping through the night at least once in a while, if not every night. They are old enough so that they do not need to eat every few hours but they should be sleeping well as this is when they do the most growing. This is a great time to wean them from the bottle, as they should not be waking up for one any longer. If they do, see if you can introduce the sippy cup at night. Don't have them take it into the crib with them though. Offer them a drink and then put them back to bed.

Toddlers may have to get up at night for a few things, but for the most part, they should be sleeping through the night. If they are not, you may be giving them too much to drink before bed, or you could have started some bad sleeping habits. Some children will wake up for a sippy cup, but they should have a regular cup at this age. Wean them from the sippy and watch how much they drink before bedtime. If they have been accustomed to being in your bed, getting them into their own may be your challenge, but expect this to take a while to accomplish.

Older children, like those that are already in school, should be sleeping through the night. If they are not, you may want to find out why. If they are having bad dreams or are afraid to sleep alone, there are plenty of interesting and creative things that you can do to help them with this. Talk to your doctor if they never sleep through, as this can cause problems for them in regards to growth and performance at school. Kids, even teenagers, need more sleep than you do, so make sure you do all you can to see that they get the hours in their bed that they need.