TOP TIPS FOR CREATING A SUCCESSFUL AUTUMN AND WINTER BEDTIME ROUTINE FOR YOUR CHILD

Autumn is a wonderful natural sleep-inducing season, with darker nights and colder temperatures a cause for snuggling up and enjoying a slower pace of life. However, nothing plays havoc with kids’ sleep more than change! Change quickly disrupts sleep routines and can make it difficult to ensure little ones go down at the right time in the evening.

With dark nights and cosy home comforts, for many it’s a struggle to keep kids awake come evening time. After a full day of nursery or school, parents risk either a ‘danger nap’ or little ones nodding off too early, with an equally too early wake up time in the morning!

Fret not, as help is at hand with a few problem-solving tips to make bedtime a breeze this autumn. Rhiannon Haggar, Senior Content and Community Coordinator at Happy Linen Company, has shared her expert tips for making sure the child in your life gets their straight ZZZ’s and ensures they have enough energy to power them through the whole of autumn and winter.

Stick to an Autumn Schedule

Autumn holds its own magic – a joyous time of pumpkins, baking, cosy nights in and leafy walks as a family. With natural cues to sleep creeping in earlier in the evening than the traditional optimum ‘bedtime’ of around 7 o’clock, schedules can become disjointed. Sticking to your child’s usual sleep schedule routines and times can become challenging faced with warmer homes and darker nights, lulling slumber all too easily and early! So, it’s important to find the ideal balance between sleep and taking the opportunity to enjoy a film on an evening as a family too.

Setting a specific and consistent time that your kids go to sleep, regardless of how dark it gets outside, helps anchor a successful evening sleep routine. This is especially key on school nights when rest is needed for them to feel energised in class or at nursery the next day. This of course can be altered slightly on the weekend, to something more family friendly to enjoy the magic of evenings together in the twinkliest season of the year.

Create an Autumn Sleep Haven

Add additional scatter blankets around the home, in winter-warming materials and autumnal colours to make for an inviting sleep haven and coax little ones off to the land of nod with ease. For the ultimate slumber sanctuary, opt for more breathable throws and bedding in heavy fabrics that keep you warm and facilitate good air circulation when in use.

At Happy Linen Company, kids can choose their own ideal dreamscape – from terrific Halloween landscapes to glow-in-the-dark designs, all while being able to sleep peacefully throughout the colder autumn and winter seasons with breathable cotton materials used.

Also, keep rooms private with blackout blinds designed to keep outside light out – including street lights as they flicker on earlier and earlier in the evening. At Happy Linen Company our curtains are fully lined, helping to keep heat in and not escape, while keeping light out. Allowing little ones to sleep without disruption.

Autumn Excitement

Autumn is full of magic and sweets to fireworks and bonfire displays, all while keeping an eye on the biggest countdown of the year, Christmas! It is fair to say that the colder seasons are the most exciting time of year for little ones (and big ones too!) which can make winding down for bedtime tricky and no treat!

A wonderful way to get the kids to unwind for an autumn slumber is by creating a relaxing build-up to their bedtime routine – preferably an hour before turning in for the night, is the optimum timing.

This allows them to form a nightly routine which will not only help them prepare for school in the morning, but will also help them to settle down after a jam-packed day of learning and after school activities!

These nightly goals include soothing baths which help them to feel ready for slipping into bedtime clothing and avoid any pyjama-drama! Topping the evening off by transporting them to a land of make believe with their favourite book – why not make a seasonal selection of your favourite bedtime books, like Room on the Broom, We’re Going on a Leaf Hunt and Meg and Mog.

Giving them set tasks before bed allows kids to get settled for the night and creates prompts towards a positive sleep environment.

So, next time you feel it’s you against the dark dark night, just remember that making bedtime fun and creating set routines will make them feel more comfortable throughout these darker and colder months.