How to Help an Anxious Child Sleep

To function normally, children need a whole lot of sleep – in fact, our little ones should be getting between 10 and 12 hours a night! For some kids this is an easy task to tick off the list, but for a lot of parents the struggle of getting a child to sleep is a tough one. If your child suffers from anxiety, be it related to sleeping in the dark or worries about school the next day, you’ll know that getting them a full night’s shut-eye is easier said than done. To help you out, our sleep experts at snoozzzy have put together our top tops for helping an anxious child sleep.

1) Talk to Your Little One

If you’re stuck wondering ‘how do I help my child sleep?’, the first thing to do is simply sit down and talk to them. It can be easy to brush off fears or worries, telling your little one to just go to sleep, but this usually won’t help. Instead, sit with them, empathise, and give them plenty of comfort. Then, try helping them with their anxiety. For example, if they have a worry about a piece of school work, sit with them and go through it together, making sure they know you think they’re doing well and they don’t need to worry. Sometimes, this is enough to settle their fears and help them get a good nights sleep.

2) Make the Monsters Silly

A lot of kids are scared of monsters creeping up in the dark. The best way to solve this? Take the fear factor away from the monsters! Make them seem silly by drawing them with funny hats and outfits, or make them scared of something tiny like mice or spiders. It’ll be a lot harder for your child to be anxious when they’re too busy laughing at their silly monster.

3) Weighted Blankets

Weighted blankets from snoozzzy are a great way to make your little one feel more safe when they head to bed, and have a whole bunch of benefits that’ll improve their sleep. A deep pressure touch stimulation helps the body release endorphins and serotonin, which both help the body to naturally relax and feel calmer. This is a great solution to combating anxiety, particularly when there is no real fear your child is battling. 

4) A Bedtime Routine

Create a bedtime routine that’ll help your child relax, including anxiety-battling techniques so they can go to bed with a clear mind. These can include:

• Lavender essential oil in their night time bath to help relieve stress. 
• A ‘monster repellent’ which you spray around their room to keep everything bad away.
• A designated time where they can talk to you about their worries, getting them off their chest as you listen and empathise.
• Make sure to tuck your child in, remind them you’re always there for them and that they’re safe before kissing them goodnight.

A lot of people ask ‘how do I help my anxious child sleep?’ and, luckily, there are plenty of solutions you can try out. If you need more help or have any questions about our weighted blankets for anxiety, get in touch with our team at snoozzzy today!