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Taking too much time to put baby to sleep?

By on February 15, 2017

Sleep training a baby can be the most demanding of all parenting jobs.

If you’ve done your homework but still can’t get your child to sleep when he needs to, Jodi Mindell, Ph.D., psychology professor and author of a successful book, Sleeping Through The Night, has this to say:

“ A structured routine provides the signals that it’s time to wind down and get ready for bed, which decreases a child’s arousal level.”

In the book, Mindell and her colleagues learned that babies and toddlers whose parents follow a specific pre-sleep routine – a bath followed by a massage or lotion application and then lullabies or reading – fell asleep 40 percent faster and slept one hour longer after three weeks. A warm bath is best but check the water temperature to make sure it’s not too hot.

“The heat will cause your child’s skin temperature to rise, which in turn will cause their core temperature to drop, producing an extra dose of drowsiness,” writes Mindell.

About Reena Monahan