What are your top tips for getting your child to sleep? Share with Hasbro’s new Moon and Me!

[YanaMumsnet]

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Getting your DC to sleep can be a challenge worthy of an award. It can be especially difficult when your children change the way they respond to toys, songs, or any other sleep aids you have in your parental arsenal. To celebrate the launch of their new Moon and Me Toy range, Hasbro would like you to share your tips for how you succeed in getting your child to sleep or what has helped you manage your child’s sleeping habits in the past.

Here’s what Hasbro has to say about their Moon and Me toys:
“Our lovable new toy range features favourite characters from the magical world of Moon and Me. From figures and play-sets that are perfect for playtime to soft plush that little ones will love snuggling with at bedtime! “

What are your tips and tricks for getting your children to sleep? Have you worked out a magic routine, or do you have a favourite sleep toy? Do you rely on sleep songs or other comforters to help you? Does TV make up a part of your child’s sleep routine? Who has a bigger say in picking up a sleep toy - you or your children? Does your DC already have a preferred sleep aid?

Please share your tips for getting your child to sleep below and you will be entered into a prize draw where one MNer will win a £300 voucher of your choice (from a list) and a toy bundle from the new Moon and Me toy range.

Thanks and good luck!

MNHQ

Terms and Conditions apply

A bed time story and treating bedtime as a normal part of the day routine. Being matter of fact that it’s bedtime and not giving any choices about it

Bath with a nice smelly ( lush sleepy for the older ones. Johnson night time for little)
A good story. No screen time at all at least an hour before bed.

Lots of exercise in the fresh air in the daytime, and a consistent bedtime routine including a story and a favourite cuddly toy.

Having a routine. My son is 9 months and always has bath, bottle and story in dim lighting.

My little one is 4 months and since 3 months we've done bath with Johnson's night bubble bath (it smells nice and seems to relax him) then bottle, dim lights and he falls asleep at 8ish. Only usually wakes once 1am for a feed then asleep until 7/8am.

Quiet music, calm bath time and lavender pillow spray!

I used to feel like an expert on getting a child to sleep! Routine, routine routine!

However my 19 month old has no rhyme or reason as to her sleep.

So I bear with the basics, we have her wind down time from about an hour before she’s due to go down. We have her bath/ change her into jammies and have her goodnight kiss routine then she goes into her room. She has a night light and a favourite toy and blanket.

After all that it’s a lottery. Some nights she goes out like a light and sleeps for 12 hours. Others, she chatters for an hour, screams blue murder if you leave the room and wakes every hour once she eventually drops off.

Usually it’s somewhere in the middle!

I have read about and considered controlled crying etc, but it’s really just not for me. I’d rather sit and hold her hand for an hour while she tires herself out than spend 5 minutes listening to her break her little heart crying.

Lots of fresh air and exercise during the day,

No screens in the hour before bedtime.

Regular routine of shower/bath, a bit of reading then lights off.

But the exercise is the most important thing in my experience!

It's a very consistent routine here - lots of cuddles and stories and the same thing every night. Our 4yo was SO high needs at bedtime for a very long time; so it's a total delight now to tuck her in, kiss her goodnight, and sneak downstairs for a proper evening!

My daughter and I play with one set of toys or a board game all snuggled up on her bed, ten minutes later we play tickle then cuddle time! At which point she is guaranteed to always falls asleep! 😴
This is my cue to sneak out of her room & downstairs like a cotton wool ninja and pop kettle on......☕️👍🏻

We don’t have a strict routine, but we always snuggle in bed and read books. When he was a baby he’d feed to sleep and Ewan the sheep would help him drift off.
Sometimes I put a projector on of stars and the moon and it also plays a lullaby. I lay next to him til he falls asleep which isn’t usually too long

We try to have a good routine though this goes out the window a bit in the holidays. Kids love to have a daily bath and book before bed.

A good routine helps.. tea, bath, supper if needed, then bed with either a short film, or a story, song etc

Routine,routine,routine!!! Since the day my boys were born. They have been bathed and had a story read every night. When they are younger a comforter is key,it makes them feel safe. Definitely no TV before bed or any technology.

Get them to run around a lot outside during the day!

The only way I could get my DC to sleep was to wait until they were super tired and crashed. Otherwise it was a fruitless task. Sadly no routine would work but looking back I wish I’d just relaxed and not worried about it all, they are great sleepers now they’re primary school age!

Bedtime routine, same every night and even over holidays etc as I found that they were a nightmare after going to bed late and they felt rotten too so aren't bothered / don't ask to stay up later

Also, no pressure on them to go to sleep, if they can't sleep they can turn a bedside light on and read. I wouldn't like someone forcing me to lie down and basically pretend to be asleep if I was wide awake, so it doesn't seem right to expect DC to.

We also think of things they (and I) could try first if they are struggling to get to sleep, like thinking of lots of things beginning with the same letter, think of a food for every letter of the alphabet, think about what you are going to be when you are older and what your house will look like etc, make up a story, design a new outfit in your head etc

A soothing voice, we say goodnight to all the animals and stars and finish by saying good night moon c u soon! And we don't wake until the sun comes up 😁 After each animal I pause and say na night ducks, na night pigs.... naaa night, and my tone slows down and gets deeper, na night monkeys, na night! Iv done it with all mine it's true if they sense u are relaxed they will be too 🤗

I still lay down next to DS, I stroke him and sing him sings and he nods off.

I am happy to do it. Soon he will be too old so enjoying my little boy while I can

Room to be as dark as possible and a fan on, as the white noise of a fan seems to be really soothing.

A loose routine, and waiting until they are actually tired to put them to bed! I have tried the 7pm bedtime and it never works for my 16 month old, I have to wait for his tired cues and he generally goes down well!

We also use white noise

Routine (bath, cuddles, book, etc). Always read three books and tell him when it's the last one. He usually listens intently to the first 2, and drops off while we're reading the last one :)

While we have a bedtime window we try to make it calm and give him a bit of wiggle room which helps us avoid the battles of getting into bed (mostly) and keeps us calm too.

Finally, a gro clock / he likes saying goodnight to the sun