Why won't my child sleep through the night?
There can be multiple reasons for a child to not sleep through the night. The reasons and solutions to this will depending on whether they have never slept through or whether they suddenly have stopped sleeping through. Getting to the route of the sleep problem is key and will allow your child to overcome the sleep battles they face each evening. The most common reasons for children to wake during the night are;
Nightmares and night terrors (these are different things)
Temperature of the room
Sensory issues
Noise
Change of environment
Moving house or room
Life changes i.e. divorce, new relationships, starting school or nursery, holidays.
Separation anxiety
Habit
Hungry / thirsty
Toilet needs / personal care
Nap timings
My one-year-old won't sleep through the night
For babies a year old, there are a lot of developmental milestones and learning curves happening in a short amount of time. In fact, children at this age develop faster now than at any other age. There is so much going on for them, and much they won’t fully understand. It is not uncommon for 1-year olds to wake through the night and by following a Milestones App, you can see a rough picture of when your baby is going through a developmental leap – which is great so you can mentally prepare! Some leaps are subtle and others are quite obvious. Some babies will sleep better through them, and others will have multiple waking nights. The important thing here is to keep your bed time routine consistent.
My two-year-old won't sleep through the night
When your baby suddenly becomes a toddler that loves to explore the world around them, their sleep patterns may change. Imagine your brain developing skills at such a speed, you can’t quite understand or make sense of the world around you yet. You can certainly recognise things and people and be familiar with routines and situations, but there is so much learning going on, it’s hard to sleep with all this brain activity going on. This is exactly how a toddler may feel. No wonder it’s suddenly difficult to fall asleep or stay asleep through the night. Toddlers learn skills and replay their learning while they sleep, this is how the brain develops skills so quickly. One day your toddler is crawling and then next they are walking! This can be really confusing and scary for some children and can cause upset and waking nights. Don’t worry though. There are many things you can do to help! Again, consistency and a predictable routine is a good start here. Don’t change anything as this will add confusion. Stick to the routine your child knows.
My three-year-old won't sleep through the night
Much like a 2-year-old, there is still so much learning and developing going on at 3 years old. However, around this age separation anxiety is also at its most common. Many children struggle with separation anxiety, it’s not uncommon, but the way you deal with it is really important, especially because it affect sleeping patterns so much. Separation anxiety can be a major cause of night time battles and waking nights. It needs to be carefully considered when creating a bedtime routine for your child.
How to get an autistic child to sleep through the night?
This is the million-dollar question! It also has quite a complex answer. Around 80% of autistic children struggle with sleep so if this includes your child, then you are not alone. There’s been some fantastic scientific research done to help parents and carers understand the neurological differences for an autistic child and the affects it can have on their sleep. Melatonin and Circadian Rhythm can be greatly affected in some autistic children, leaving their bed times to be a battle often feeling impossible to change or win. After experiencing some extreme sleep difficulties with my own son when he was a baby (and later diagnosed with Autism and PDA) I felt that with all my professional and personal experience, I wanted to make sure others like you, don’t go through the unnecessary sleep deprivation. There is no need to suffer. There are some amazing sleep solutions out there that actually work!
Do you feel you’ve tried everything for your child and had little or no success?
If your answer is YES, then get in touch today. I can’t decide for you to make that investment, but I can tell you that if you’re looking for gentle sleep solutions that actually do work, if you want your evenings back without the 2-hour bed time battles or the constant waking nights, then I have the solutions for you!
Still not sure? Read my reviews and then book in for a discovery call – Let’s talk about the sleep issues your child is facing and how to resolve these quickly and long term.
