Share your top child and adult sleep tips with BleepBleeps – £300 voucher to be won! NOW CLOSED

[EmmaMumsnet]

Whether you have babies or tweens, getting a good night’s sleep isn’t always easy. In fact, bed-time can be a long and tiresome task. There’s getting your DCs to sleep in the first place – often taking hours – and then there’s waking up in the night and early mornings. BleepBleeps wants to know what your top tips are for making this process easier. Have you mastered a bed-time routine which means you and your DC both get a great night’s sleep?

Here’s what BleepBleeps has to say: “BleepBleeps has made, and is still creating, neat little gadgets which make parenting easier, including your night-time routine. We offer a range of devices which make it possible for you to keep an eye on your DCs from your smartphones so you have peace of mind whilst they’re sleeping.”

Do you have a bedtime strategy in place such as co-sleeping or controlled crying? Do you use devices like nightlights and baby monitors? Or other products that help your child fall asleep and/or keep them in bed till the morning?

Whatever your tips and tricks are, add your comments below and you’ll be entered into a prize draw where one MNer will win a £300 Love2Shop voucher.

Thanks and good luck!

MNHQ

Standard T&Cs apply

Story CD helps my obviously-tired-but-fighting-it primary aged DS to drift off when he is "not sleepy"

I've done the same with mine since babies. Bath, cuddles on the bed, the same lullabies in the same voices - for 9 years now.
If they're ill or unsettled, a bit of extra fuss - steam and olbas oil in the bathroom, lavender foot massages, heat packs.
Above all, remain calm even tho inside your screaming 'just go to sleep' because they just want mummy or daddy reassurance

Child guided routine! Understand that different children need different amounts of sleep and stay calm and patient at all times

I talk to them via the intercom if they need to settle.

I try to make sure he gets decent naps during the day, he is horrendous in the evening and during the night if he's over-tired. With a busy family life it's not always possible but it's definitely something I aim for!

My 5yr old DS always want to be with teenagers, whenever I take him to the playground there is a skate park beside it where the teenagers hang out and he keeps going over to them, they are not nice to him but be doesn't understand. How can I stop him? One of the park keepers heard him asking them "why they were talking to him like that, whats the problem" he also told me (the park warden) they were trouble but he (my DS)keeps going over to them...he is REALLY strong willed, but that's a while another story

I found that black out blinds made a difference.

It was going camping with a young ds that made me realise how much easier it was when I didn't try to have an evening to myself, and we just all went to bed at the same time. He wanted to be with us and that was why bedtimes were such a nightmare.

Going back home we did go back to normal and we still tried to get him to bed before us, but it somehow made it easier having identified what the problem was. We still sometimes all go to bed at the same time and it's always nicer than i think it will be.

Our 3 mo DS likes to feel snug in his sleepy head he will not sleep without it, that mixed with his Ewan the dream sheep or my white noise app and he sleeps for 8-9 hours through the night since we discovered these!! Bliss!!

Blackout Blinds! :)

Have a set routine and stick to it, mine was bath, bottle bed.

I am a dreadful insomnia so nothing to offer - I have tried all the obvious tricks. My eldest son was not a great sleeper as a baby, I tried to get him into a routine but it didn't work he was just very nocturnal and still is. I have looked after other people's babies as a nanny and most responded to a warm bath, bedtime cuddle and stories, I always tried to make going to bed feel like a good thing and not something too rushed.

remember a bath before bed, it calm you children down & alsop the blackout blind is you friend

Get into a routine.
Have a warm bath, soothing music and a bedtime story.
Tire them out during the day!

Have set rules and try to stick to them about what time they go to bed

Child .. always settle down with a story and read to them every night.
Adult... Get to bed at a reasonable time and write things down you need to sort out the following day before you go upto bed.

I have both young and grown up children , i had no trouble with my eldest two or my yougest DS but my DD has many difficulties so sleep is an issue. We do have to stick to a strict routine day and night but this does not mean she finds it easy to sleep as she doesnt and often i will have to be in the room until she sleeps. I say dont stress just go with whatever works for your child and for everyone in it to have a peaceful night. These issues never last forever and staying calm and not making a fuss about it is the way to be

Keep the bedroom cool & uncluttered for a better nights sleep

The important thing is to have a routine and follow it calmly. Do not have tvs and other electronic gadgets in the bedroom and do not use Computers within 1 hour of bed

Sleep begets sleep so good daytime napping helped mine. I've found blackout blinds help with early waking. The rest is routine, routine, routine.

Good routine, black out blinds but most importantly (especially in tum his house) is ensuring your Little one can self settled, the minute my ds was able to take himself off to sleep without us he slept through the night as they wake regularly through the night and if they can't self settle then they will wake parents up to help them.
We did exactly that for months including having him sleep with us when he woke during night until we did some sleep training which meant he could help himself fall asleep at bedtime and when he woke during the night.

We always found that a good routine and black out blinds were the way to go with our 2. We never said 'when the sun is out it's ok to be up' as that is just silly, but we did place a clock in their room and mark it with a time that was ok to be up. Making sure the room is well aired and the quilt is right for the season helps too (for all of you).

I find that we just need to make sure the room is dark and the temperature ok in our room to drift off.

And a big one for everyone nowadays - turn off the tech!

I use a lavender plug in to help me relax & get a good night's sleep. A good memory foam pillow is a must & a decent mattress.

Always get in to some sort of routine. Try not to get in to bad habits when taking holidays off work such as going to bed very late and having regular lie ins. If you go to bed very late and have lie ins then it can affect sleeping pattern and going to bed and up the usual times can then be really difficult.

We found our young children got to sleep much easier with something musical and colourful and familiar in the bedroom ... we used a device which projected pleasant images onto the ceiling.