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Any tips?
How about making bedtime something really special? Spend quality time with them, talk to them…tickle their feet (yes im serious!-they love it when you do it)ask about their day…read them stories…Good Luck!
some shnaps or wine left over from shabbos!
works all the time.
a better question is how do i get their grades up? they seem to be out of it in class? any suggestions?
chesedname-well with all the wine you give them no wonder they are “out of it” in class!!!
Maybe the shnaps and wine, it’s called a hangover! 🙂
laguy and blinky
do you really think there is a connection there, didn’t think of it 🙂
try soothing music
Routine.
We do dinner, bath, teeth, shema/songs (we do shema, hamalach, adon olem), book(s) and then our final good night song.
I often nurse the baby while doing bedtime.
Be happy-i would add on to you to rock the bed softly while rubbing their forehead and nose-that works like a charm. (I tried that firsthand and those kids where sleeping in no time!) Yawn… Im getting sleepy!
Good to spend time with each child individually b4 bedtime. I put it one at I time and spend a few min beforehand shmoozing with each one.
But the rule in my house is- once you’re in bed- you must be quiet. No more stories! They will wait for the next day!!
‘sailing by’ by Ronald binge is a beautifal piece of classical music that sends my kids to sleep
we all say shema together, and then we read some books. usually works great, but wouldnt you know it, right now the baby is crying 🙁
The ‘nutrition’ part is – A lot of calcium from the Diet.
From Supplement there is A few. What I’ve found working well is – Melotonin.
I have them shower and get into pj’s right after supper. Then they have time to play or watch a video or any other quiet activity. I give a few minute warning before bed. Then they go upstairs and brush teeth, get into bed. Sometimes I let each pick a short book for me to read to them. We say Sh’ma, with a whole routine: I sit on one kid’s bed for one part, scratch his back. Move to the next kid – massage his legs. Whatever each kid prefers. Then hugs and kisses – and THAT’S IT. My kids know: once they are in bed there is no getting out! They don’t have to sleep (if one complains of trouble falling asleep I FORBID him from sleeping until morning! Once the pressure’s off, they fall asleep in minutes!) – but they cannot talk in anything above a whisper, and they cannot put their feet back on the floor until the sun shines thru the window.
I am also very strict about not letting kids sleep in my bed; when they would cry from their cribs, I used to climb in with them and help them fall back asleep there, rather than take then into my bed. As they got older, and they came to my room after a bad dream, or whatever, I walk them back to their bed and stay with them a few minutes there.
The only time things are off-schedule is Friday/ YomTov night – where sometimes we run late and the younger kids fall asleep on the couch and get carried upstairs.
Well, I’ll tell you how your babysitter does it. She turns on the gas on the stove without lighting the fire.
Yes, I know of such an incident.
No, you don’t know if your babysitter does it.
Bath and massage, supper, storybook, bathroom and brushing teeth, shema and a little song then i ask each kid what was their favorite part of the day, hug and kiss and goodnight.
any tips for newborns? My son (3 months) is used to being rocked asleep, but soon enough, that habit is going to have to go
My 10-year old sometimes puts on a puppet show for the little ones when they’re in bed- they love it!
sing to him!
works for my baby
any soft song will do (like hamalach hagoel, v’zakeinee)
What tefillos besides shema do you say? We do these:
1. Ribono shel olom harayni mochayl…
2. Hamapil (without using Hashem’s name)
3. Shema (full 1st verse only)
4. Vi-hi no-am
5. Y’vorech’cho Hashem (3 times)
6. B’shaym Hashem (3 times)
7. Adon Olom
When I write it, it looks like a bunch. But it only takes 6-7 minutes. And the whole times I massage the kids, unless the baby is in my lap.
Well, I’ll tell you how your babysitter does it. She turns on the gas on the stove without lighting the fire.
Yes, I know of such an incident.
No, you don’t know if your babysitter does it.
That was a crazy story! It wasn’t a babysitter, it was a day care center I think! Some people are nuts!!!
Poster a friend of my mine did this, and it actually worked! Make a recording of your voice, and when it it bed time turn the lights off, and turn the recorder on. This will work only in a calm and relaxed environment. The voice of the parent is soothing, comforting and calming to the baby or toddler or young child/children. Try this and see if it works.
when i babysit for my nieces and nephews when i finally get them into bed after bath teeth brushing etc i always like to ask them what their best part of the day was and why… i like it because they think about their day before they go to sleep and i get to hear about their day and it goes for any age… (younger kids will tell me about a yummy snack or fun game while the older ones will tell me about a good mark on a test or a new friend etc)
i plan IYH to do this with my kids! (i know wasn’t really an answer to the question….. sorry)
sms: now, as you rock your baby, hold a specific blanket or small soft toy between you and the baby. Be very consistent – same toy/blanket everytime you rock him (her?) to sleep. Then start putting the toy in the crib with the baby. The toy will a) absorb your smell, which babies love and b) be associated with the calming experience of being rocked by you. Hopefully, it can soon be significant enough on its own to replace the rocking. (Altho, the rocking is great, and if it doesn’t disrupt the household too much, maybe it should continue a while!)
when i babysit i have a few policies:
older kids can talk to me as long as they want as long as they keep their eyes shut the entire time.
smaller kids get a book, or maybe two, and wtvr bottle or toy they’re used to, and then i sing to them or tell them a story – provided their eyes are closed the entire time.
the smallest babies, i rock them a bit, with their bottles or wtvr they’re used to. if they’re not asleep after that, i put them into their cribs and they usually cry for a few min and then fall asleep.
it works.
but i’m not a mother.
these are tricks prettty much for any babysitters who are reading this.
Booze, booze, and more booze.
Now that we got that out of the way – the best thing is to have a bedtime routine, saying Shma and Hamalach with the kids,reading a special bedtime story like Goodnight Moon, singing a special song to them… I always changed the last two line in Rockabye Baby for my kids, because I thought the originals were horrible. So I would sing, “When the bough breaks, the baby won’t fall,
Ki Hashem Elokeinu, Shomeir al hakol.”
My kids loved it, and now my daughter sings it to her daughter, and my granddaughter has even sung it back to me (she’s two, kinehora). Backrubs don’t hurt, either.
bath,books and shma
I chant “good night” in 6 languages with my kids right before I leave their room. Always on the lookout for teachable moments.
any tips for getting teenagers to sleep ? they have no problems with morning or afternoon naps it’s just from 11pm till …
let them be.
If you’re talking toddler – 6 years old, lying down with them is a sure winner (plus, there’s a good chance you can grab a quick nap yourself at the same time). Older than that, they usually conk out after 15 minutes or so. Infanthood is more complex, so I’d refer that to a real expert (read: mommy)
Back to toddlers and older, when all else fails, threats are always a good motivatior. My favorite: if you don’t go to sleep, I’m going to tie you to a tree and let the bears and wolves eat you!
(Its an inside joke, from a thread a few weeks ago 😉
“Ki Hashem Elokeinu, Shomeir al hakol.”
OK, Oomis, now we have you cornered! This is so original, that when any of the CR folks come across this, we’ll be hot on the trail of Oomis’s true identity!
She turns on the gas on the stove without lighting the fire.
Yes, I know of such an incident.
Poppa – I don’t know about this, but I know for a fact that one of the mothers in our bungalow colony would maxi-dose her kids with benadryl.
Scary. Makes my “threat” idea seem reasonable
sr psych, thanks! I actually just realized an even worse problem- at nights he is used to being nursed to sleep!!! (- happened kinda without me realizing that was happening…)Any ideas how to break that habit?
for a child that wants to fall asleep but simply can’t:someone just told me about melatonin…wish i would have known about it for one of the older kids….maxihealth has it.totally natural,works wonders for a kid that has a hard time falling asleep.plus,he wakes up nice and cheerful and well-rested in the morning.just don’t give it too late.and not unnnecessarily.(if he konks out on his own-great)
sms- most of my infants/toddlers were/are nursed to sleep. so convenient and natural- after a good meal one becomes drowsy- why break the habit?
cuz some nights go like this: nurse, falls asleep. put him down to in his crib and he wakes up. won’t go to sleep unless he nurses again. and repeats. and repeats. He could have eaten an hour ago, so he isn’t hungry. maybe after half an hour when he is really still full………..
OK, Oomis, now we have you cornered! This is so original, that when any of the CR folks come across this, we’ll be hot on the trail of Oomis’s true identity! “
Ask Lois Lane, she knows. (Thank you, BPT!)
Oomis.. you’re clark kent???
I realize my idea will never work, as already, I’ve told Mrs. BP the “revised rockabye” (which she loved!)and she mentioned it to a friend, so by the time I finish typing this post, it will be so firmly rooted in our social network, we’ll never know which trail is right and which one will lead right back to BP Totty! (and its safe to say, this is NOT your true identity )
Have an easy fast!
For the past few nights it’s been like this:
Brush teeth, read books, say shema, turn on music and lie down next to the one making the most noise.
At 9:30 or so my wife wakes me up for maariv and when I come back I take the baby for a walk outside until he is out cold.
Then I come back home and go back to sleep.
SMS – sorry so long :o)
If the nursing/sleep/put down/wake cycle is still an issue: If you know for sure baby’s not hungry (you’ve pumped to check how much he gets at a typical feeding), you might have to tolerate a bit of screaming as he gets used to another way of soothing himself. So, you could put him in a front carrier (wrong position for nursing, but still close to you), as you work around the house. Or in a stroller/car seat, near you. Always with that same blanket (see my previous post). Use pacifiers; babies need to suck. (you can always burn them when they turn three! :o) ).
b”h he goes to sleep very nicely, now. we figured out why he was being so difficult. i had weaned him off nursing to sleep and rocking before, but it seemed like he suddenly had a big set back. this week (actually before) i realized maybe is he is hungry not tired! I fed him and he was quite happy! When he yawned, i put him right in and he went without a peep.poor little guy… Now it’s time to start my big boy on solids!!! Yay!!!
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