Some resistance around bed time is perfectly normal for most kids. But if your child regularly puts up a serious fight before bed – especially if they cite things like fear of the dark or monsters under the bed – your child may be experiencing child sleep-related anxiety. At 5 Little Monkeys, our mission is to help families everywhere experience the life-changing power of healthy sleep with our parent-approved kids mattress, but we also strive to be a comprehensive resource for every aspect of your child's sleep health. If your child is struggling with sleep-related anxiety, here are some simple tips to help.
How to Deal with Child Sleep-Related Anxiety
First of all, it's important to understand where your child's anxiety is coming from. Especially for kids younger than school-aged, it may be hard to distinguish between reality, fiction, and imagination: if a young child learns of a monster in a movie or TV show, they may not realize that the monster isn't actually real. Even if they can tell the difference between reality and make-believe, a child's strong imagination may make even imaginary fears seem all too real.
If your child experiences anxiety about monsters, darkness, or any other subject, the first step is always to empathize and comfort them. Instead of simply telling your child not to worry about something, take the time to listen to them and honestly empathize with their feelings. This will help your child feel heard – and if your child knows you've legitimately heard their concerns, they'll be much more receptive to how you comfort them.
Outside of empathizing and comforting your child, it's important to look at the other aspects of your child's sleep hygiene. Make sure your child is getting enough daily physical activity, make sure you have a routine, soothing bedtime ritual, and also ensure you're using a high-quality children's mattress so your child's body is getting the support it needs for healthy sleep. Remember that sleep is always holistic, so it's important to consider every factor when dealing with any sleep-related difficulty.
Try Our Kids Mattress Today
We hope this helps you deal with child sleep anxiety whenever it comes up, and as always, we're here to help if you have more questions: just reach out to us at our contact page. We can't wait to hear from you, and if you have yet to try our purpose-built children's mattress, we're proud to offer it risk-free. Take the 100-Night Rest Test and try the best kids mattress today. If you don't love it after 100 nights, you'll get your money back, no questions asked. We look forward to helping you and your little one experience the power of healthy, restful sleep!