Essay On Sleeping Patterns

Improving Sleeping Patterns

Many parents who have children with ADHD will resort to using prescription medications to help their child sleep, but that should be a last resort. For parents who have children with ADHD, there are some alternatives to helping your child relax.

Use an egg timer. When you use a tangible instrument, such as an egg timer, it helps your family stay on track when it comes to a bedtime schedule.

Commit to a schedule. You have an example of a bedtime routine in chapter three. Going to bed at the same time every evening and waking up at the same time every morning, including on the weekends, helps your child sleep much better. Allowing your children to stay up later on the weekends and wake up later the following morning makes their weekdays harder. If they are still tired despite a set schedule, then their sleep time might need to be increased. Remember that younger children need more sleep than older children.

During the hour you’re getting your children ready for bed, turn off music, the television, computers, and video games. Don’t engage in any arguments or initiate any type of rough play. This is the house where everything should be peaceful. That means parents need to be peaceful, too. Do not argue with each other or the children at this time.

Use a reward system. Allow your children to earn stars, tokens, or stickers that are able to be traded in the following morning for a small reward, like a favorite breakfast food or being allowed to choose the music on their ride to school. These rewards come when an expected action, such as brushing their teeth, is completed on time. Rewards can be earned by staying in bed all night after the lights are out, too.

Keep the house quiet. When the bedtime routine has been started and once your children are in bed, keep the house calm and quiet. Parents and older children can stay up later, but it’s a good idea to keep the voices down and the television and music either down or