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Working Moms

How to Create Healthy Sleeping Habits for Your Kids

Working moms make a boatload of sacrifice when it comes to their personal life. However, the one that hurts the most is time spent with the family.

It is heartbreaking when you can’t get home in time every night for the bedtime story! And it’s extremely difficult to leave the house, in the morning, when the kids are still asleep.

But besides the mixture of heavy feelings that haunts you every time you leave for work or stay late, some mothers also have to deal with the difficulty of creating healthy sleeping habits for their children. After all, when you are away from home most of the day, kids may not be so eager to take their afternoon nap.

Healthy sleep habits are crucial for the well-being of every human being. It’s ideal to establish a regular bedtime routine from infancy. Of course, as the kids grow, their sleep routing will change. However, the habits they get as children will stay with them for the rest of their lives.

So how can a working mother make sure her children follow the rules when it comes to sleep? While it is indeed a bit more difficult, we have a few tricks and tips that may make your job a bit easier.

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Keep a Regular Sleep Schedule

This is valid for the entire family, both kids, and adults! To implement this, establish the wake-up time and the go-to-bed time for the kids and for the adults in the house. These times must be respected, even on weekends, so the sleep habit will have time to form and develop.

Basically, if the entire house is up by 8 AM during the week, but you sleep until 9 AM in the weekend, this is not a good routine. You should maintain the 8 AM wake-up hour and use the extra time you have on weekends for family time. Also, the same goes for the bedtime schedule, which must be respected no matter what. If you manage to keep this up, in time, you’ll notice that you feel more rested and more productive throughout the day.

 

Be an Example of Good Sleeping Habits

We know, work never stops! However, by allowing work to invade your personal time (answering emails before bed or chatting with a colleague about the latest project while the kids watch TV or play games), you teach the kids that work is more valuable than your time with them.

Most successful working mothers have a strict balance between work and family life. For them, work stops at a certain hour and remains at the office. Once they are out the door, family time starts so they have the chance to catch up with the kids and enjoy a pleasant evening with their partner and friends.

Now, if you work from home, it may be a bit more difficult to make the separation. But with a bit of organization, it is possible to have the work area and the family area of the house. When you create these segmentations, it’s easier to embrace motherhood and being a career woman.

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Make the Kids’ Bedroom Extra Cozy

The bedroom is an important factor in your children’s sleeping habits and routine because it influences the quality and the length of the occupants’ snooze time.

For this, make sure to remove electronic devices from the bedroom (even though there will be vehement protests), keep the night temperature at an ideal setting for sleep and invest in drapes that keep the light and sound out.   

It’s also best to invest in a high-quality mattress that accommodates each child’s sleeping needs. For instance, there are softer surfaces that help side sleepers to keep their spine aligned and there are firmer mattresses that are best suited for stomach and back sleepers.

If you feel a bit lost when you look at the plethora or mattress models and producers, have a look at this Mattress-Guides article. You’ll feel more confident shopping for a bed after you have all the right information.


 

Limit Screen Time Before Bed

Again, this is a rule for everyone in the house, not just the kids! Recent studies proved that it’s not healthy to fall asleep while browsing on your phone or tablet. The light emitted by the device keeps you awake for longer and the brain remains active, trying to follow all the news and friends-related events you’re seeing.

Create a rule that says phones and tablets should not be used at least half an hour before bedtime. You’ll also notice an improvement in the quality of sleep habits and the way you feel when you wake up.

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Wrap Up

It takes a bit of discipline and maybe some negotiation to implement the rules above. But once they are in place, they will help the entire family stay healthy and have better sleeping habits. If you truly want them to stick, the rules must be followed by the entire household, not just the kids. After all, parents are the main role models for their children. And if you don’t put your money where your mouth is, kids won’t understand the true value behind the rules.

 

This post contains affiliate links and I may receive a commission, at no additional cost to you, should you purchase through one of my links. Please see my disclosure for more information.

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Stacey Morgan

Stacey Morgan is a sleep expert and co-owner of Mattress Guides (https://www.mattress-guides.net/). She is dedicated to helping people improve their sleep by making their own informed choices.

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