.png)
Fixing sleep challenges can feel complicated, overwhelming and, honestly, sometimes hopeless. And always FRUSTRATING!
If you have a kid who battles bedtime, tantrums at night, has night wakings or struggles with early waking (who the hell wants to start their day at 5am?!?), then fixing the problem may not be as difficult as you think.
If you're looking for a quick fix, a magic wand that can jumpstart the process of improving sleep, it's called The Magic of the Early Bedtime.
Bedtime is the easiest change you can make that will absolutely have the most impact.
Bedtime for 2-6 year olds should be between 6:30 and 7:30.
Now, you may have heard this before and thought it wasn't that important. Maybe other kids need it, but not yours? Maybe an early bedtime is difficult to achieve based on your family’s schedule. Maybe 6:30 just feels too early to you. But, listen up... if you’re reading this, you're STILL struggling with sleep.
So, I’m gonna tell it to you straight, mama –
You’ve got to do it!
You’ve got to make an effort.
You’ve got to prioritize it.
You’ve got to prioritize sleep for your child’s sake
(not to mention yours)
When kids stay up too late they get a rush of cortisol, a second wind, which gives them energy and stamina for the bedtime battle. Evil cortisol makes our kids not sleep as soundly so they wake up during the night and it also causes the dreaded 5am early waking! This is NOT what you want. Get your kiddo to bed before cortisol takes over. So, look for sleepy cues then get the ball rolling on bedtime.
How Do You Know If You Have a Good Bedtime?
1. If your kid falls asleep within 10-15 minutes of bedtime
2. If they sleeps soundly all night
3. If they wake up for the day after 6am
Are you having an ah-ha moment yet??
Now, if your saying “Jessica, my kid already goes to bed at 7:30 and they’re STILL waking up at 5am!”. Guess what that means… they need to be going to bed even earlier! That’s why I’ve given you a pretty big bedtime range since each child is different. So, adjust bedtime 15 minutes earlier for a few nights.
Experience with my own 2 crazy kids and over 5 years worth of moms has proved the Magic of the Early Bedtime over and over again.
Moving bedtime earlier - making this one easy change - can have an instant positive impact. All I ask is that you give it a try for 5 nights in a row. Just watch.
More questions? Let's set up a free Sleep Strategy call to get you on the right path. click here.
