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10 tips to make your kid sleep better

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Story highlights

  • A lack of sleep can contribute to behavior issues and even health problems such as obesity
  • Many parents worry that media and technology interfere with bedtime routines and sleep

Parents know firsthand the impact a poor night’s sleep has on kids. Lack of sleep can contribute to crankiness, problems with attention and learning, behavior issues, and even health problems such as obesity. Though the reasons for poor sleep vary, many parents worry that media and technology interfere with bedtime routines and sleep.

Photocredit: pixabay

Studies on how media use affects kids’ sleep aren’t conclusive. But they do highlight certain behaviors that are associated with poor sleep. We’ve put together a list of 10 tips to make your kid sleep better. We hope you find something that works for you.

Encourage physical activity instead of screen time after school

After a long day at school, many kids just want to plop down in front of a computer or TV and veg out. Although kids definitely deserve a break, studies show that increasing physical activity during the day can lead to better sleep.

Keep devices off the bed

It’s possible that the blue light emitted from laptops, tablets, and smartphones interrupts sleep patterns. Set up other comfy spots in the living room or on the bedroom floor for tweens and teens to do computer work or just enjoy their screen time.

Try white-noise apps to calm babies and toddlers

With bedtimes for young kids starting as early as 6:30 or 7 p.m., you may find it hard to provide a quiet environment for sleeping babies. Apps such as White Noise (iOS/Android, $1.99) or White Noise Baby (iOS/Android, $0.99) can help soothe little ones to sleep while the rest of the family carries on with regular evening activities.

 

Limit young kids’ exposure to violent content

Especially for kids under 8, seeing violence in videos, on TV shows, in video games, and in movies can directly affect quality sleep. Exposure to media violence can increase kids’ anxiety and lead to nightmares that interrupt the sleep cycle.

Keep TVs out of the bedroom

The connection between bedroom TV and poor sleep is well established. Kids don’t sleep as well or as long with a TV present.

Make the bedroom a “no-connection” zone

The growing trend of sleep-texting is a disturbing enough reason to play it safe. Confine online activity to common areas such as the dining room or living room and have kids charge their phones in another room at night.

Related: How do screens such as TV and smartphones affect my kids sleep?

We hope these 10 tips to make your kid sleep better really helps you and your baby. 

Culled from Erin Wilkey, Common Sense Media
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