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Good quality, consistent sleep is very important for kids’ growth and development. Without enough sleep (or if they have poor sleep), your child’s learning, health, behaviour and wellbeing could be affected.
Setting a bedtime routine can help form healthy sleep habits and make for happier families.
Read more about the importance of sleep and sleep problems for children.
Work on developing a bedtime routine from when your child is young. Babies and children feel safe and secure when they know what’s expected of them. A bedtime routine may include
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Setting a good sleep schedule means being consistent with a regular bedtime. This will help your tamariki understand when it's time to sleep. Make sure you allow plenty of time for those pre-sleep activities so you’re consistently tucking them in at the same time each night. The amount of sleep your child needs will help you decide what is a good time for them to be in bed by. Recommendations for sleep are different for children of different ages:
The place where your tamariki sleep should be quiet, warm (but not too hot) and dark (although some children might want or need a night light). In bigger whānau, or where children share a room, it might not be as easy to settle your child. But by talking softly and sticking to a consistent routine, you’ll be teaching all the family that bedtime is quiet time. If possible, close the bedroom door and try and keep the volume of the TV or conversation in another room low.
Bedtime is likely to be more attractive to children if they feel like it's a special time of day – a chance to have some quiet time to snuggle and relax with mum or dad before going to sleep. Get kids involved – let them choose the story to read or a song to drift off to sleep to. Just be careful that your bedtime story isn’t scary or would cause them to have bad dreams.
Even before you start the bedtime routine children should be starting to wind down. Limit the amount of screen and television time your child has in the hour before bed and don’t let them take devices into the bedroom. You could read a chapter from their favourite story with them if they are older. Letting them stay up ‘past their bedtime’ can lead to them being over-tired and make it harder to drop off to sleep. Read more about screen time and children.
Being active during the day and spending time outside in bright sunlight can help promote good sleep – but don’t forget the sunscreen! Younger kids often don’t need structured exercise, just being outside playing in nature or at the park keeps them active.
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A big meal within a few hours of going to sleep isn’t recommended and sugary or caffeinated drinks won’t help either.
If your child isn’t well (eg, they have a cough or cold that causes them to be blocked up or hot) they might find it hard to have a restful sleep. This page on common symptoms and what to do(external link) might help. If they snore a lot or stop breathing for short periods while they sleep, talk to your healthcare provider.
Even if it’s challenging, do your best to stick to the routine. If someone else is putting your children to bed, ask them to follow the same routine as you. It won’t always be perfect, but a solid bedtime routine can really help with your child’s sleep. Not enough good-quality sleep can impact on your child’s behaviour, learning and health, so make a consistent bedtime routine a top priority.
Sleep tips for children(external link) Sleep Health Foundation, Australia
Sleep pages(external link) KidsHealth NZ
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