Bedding
Bedding should be a pleasant procedure. Three or four factors determine the difference between a child who voluntarily goes to bed and one that resists and argues.
Let the procedure for going to sleep be pleasant and carried out with mutual consent. Remember that for a tired child to go to bed - it's fun and enjoyment, if you do not turn it into an unpleasant duty. Keep goodwill confidence. You must show him that sleeping at a certain time is as natural as breathing. The child can occasionally persuade the father and mother to put him to sleep later, for example on July 4th. But in many families the debate about when to go to bed occurs every evening. It's pretty easy to put the baby in the day, right after dinner, when he has not started playing yet. To develop a stable relationship between dinner and night sleep is usually more difficult because of bathing or late father's return home.
Until three or four years or until the age when he can go to bed himself, take him to bed, and do not send in words. Carry a very small child in bed affectionately. Three- or four-year-old lead by the hand, continuing to talk about something.
Young children get used to the usual ritual of putting. For example, first stack and cover the doll. Then put a toy bear cub in the crib. Then they put him to bed and kiss the child himself. Then the mother tightens the curtains and turns off the light. Try not to leave immediately, however you hurry.(On the other hand, one should not allow the child to delay the ritual.) Let everything go peacefully. If there is time, tell or read a fairy tale. But it should not be terrible. Most children are helped to fall asleep teddy bear or doll in bed.
If the child takes toys to bed. Is it harmful to allow a child to take to bed a toy, like a teddy bear? Definitely not. If the toy gives him confidence and peace, this is only good for him. People are social beings from birth. In more primitive countries than ours, adults and children sleep together. It is not surprising that a child, especially if he is the only one, feels lonely, going to bed in his room. And if he can breathe life into a doll or a toy animal, so much the better. Do not worry if the toy is torn or dirty. It can be washed or scrubbed, but do not throw it away for hygienic reasons.
The same applies to a special wool blanket, an old pillow, a torn diaper or any object to which the child is attached. The only problem arises when this object finally collapses. Sometimes, when this happens, the child agrees to exchange. But if he does not want to transfer adoration to a new subject, do not force him. Over time, he will outgrow this predilection. You can accelerate this process, if sometimes, not particularly aggressively, you will begin to remind that he will someday grow up and toys will not be needed for him. And how to deal with hard toys? Parents sometimes worry that a child can get hurt or hurt himself by stumbling upon a toy in a dream. No need to worry. Children quietly sleep in a bed full of their treasures.
How much should a child sleep? A child can usually be trusted: he knows how much sleep he needs. By the age of two you can leave it to him. Perhaps he needs a more prolonged sleep, but he is hampered by some kind of loneliness, fear of being alone, fear of darkness, fear of nightmares, fear of getting wet in bed, excitement from the experienced for the day. He can be excited because of a rivalry with his older brother or "burn out" because of jealousy towards his younger sister. He can be excited every night, because every evening he fights with his mother because of reluctance to lie down, either because of anxiety about the lessons, or because of the thriller that he just listened to on the radio. Prevention of such difficulties is considered elsewhere. Here I quote them only to show that if a child says that he does not want to sleep, it does not mean that he does not need a dream.
Two year old. The average child needs 12 hours of night sleep and one or two hours of daytime sleep. As a child approaches six years, the duration of a day's sleep or rest decreases, while the night remains the same. Between six and nine years, the average child usually for an hour reduces the time of night sleep - for half an hour at a time - and, for example, lays down at eight if he is accustomed to get up at seven. By the age of twelve, he reduces the time of night sleep by two more half an hour and falls down at nine. This is the average data. Some children need more, others less.
Many children refuse to sleep in three to four years, but most need rest or quiet games at home until five or six years. In many schools, up to the sixth grade, sleep or rest is organized in the afternoon. It all depends on the temperament of the child and his activity.