When Jackson switched from a crib to a toddler bed we wanted a way for him to know when it was okay to get out of bed both in the morning and after naps. Our fear was that he'd wake up at 3am and get out of bed on his own thinking it was morning.
So, I did a google search and found a good website www.drgreene.com written by a pediatrician. I've used his website several times. He had some GREAT advice on potty training (maybe I'll write another blog about that later).
Anyway, in one article he wrote that, as adults, when we wake up in the middle of the night we look at the clock and know that it's not time to wake up yet and go back to sleep. Children obviously can't tell time (mine can't anyway), so he suggested plugging a night light into a timer (you can get them at home improvement stores like Home Depot), so that the night light will turn on and off automatically. Then if the child wakes up in the middle of the night they can see that the night light is on and go back to sleep. Then in the morning, when the night light is off, they know it's time to wake up.
Well, we tried it with Jackson and it works wonders!! We played a little game with the night light on the day we initiated it. When the night light was on he'd jump into bed and when it was off he'd jump out of bed. Now he knows that when the night light is on he needs to at LEAST be getting ready for bed (i.e. brushing teeth, going potty, etc.)or stay in bed unless he asks permission to get out.
His night light also travels with us when we go on trips. I recommend getting a timer that has a built in rechargeable battery, so that you don't have to keep reprogramming it every time you unplug it.
His night light goes off in the morning at around 7:45am. Most of the time he wakes up around 7:15am and as long as he wakes up with a "happy heart" (NOT crying), I'll go into his room and let him look at books until his night light goes off.
It's the same for his nap. The night light goes on at 1:00pm for his nap (which gives us time to go potty and read books before he actually goes to sleep around 1:30pm) and turns off again around 4:30pm (although I'm considering changing it because he's been sleeping until 3:30 on a regular basis now ... I guess I had to give up those 3 hour naps some time right?)
The night light goes on again for bed at 7:30pm (which gives us time for potty, pjs, brushing teeth, Bible stories, prayer, books ... a bedtime routine)and he's alone in his bed by 8:15pm, but doesn't fall asleep until 8:30pm or sometimes even 9pm. BUT he stays in bed thanks to the trusty night light. We used to let him look at books by himself before he fell asleep, but he's now at the age where he'd look at books all night if we'd let him.
We were probably a little too legalistic about the night light in the beginning (he was disciplined a couple of times for getting out of bed with the night light on), but if there's one thing I learned from my mom (who has been a 3rd grade teacher for over a decade) it's that "it's easier to hold the reins too tight and let them loose later on than it is to hold them too loose and rein them in later." We are a little more relaxed about the night light now, but he's also older and understands when he should stay in bed and when it's appropriate to get out.
No comments:
Post a Comment