Doubts: There are no magic recipes for a baby or toddler to fall asleep. But yes, the doubts. Here are the answers to the most common unknowns about childhood sleep.
Bedtime problems often form, along with nighttime awakenings, the main concerns of parents. Many ask themselves every night: How long is it going to take him to sleep today?
It is true, some children present alterations, but this is not the case in most cases. They do what is expected for their age, but we can’t tell. With Children and Sleep, Everything is Relative.
These are the most common doubts of parents:
1. Will, It Always Takes So Long to Fall Asleep?
It depends on how old the child is: the younger it is, the less time it takes; being able to arrive at half an hour or more when it is in the time of the anguish of separation, between the nine months and the two years.
Then the time gets shorter. However, if we know the mechanism that causes separation anxiety and fear and applies the appropriate advice for their age, the child falls asleep in about 10-20 minutes at most.
According to statistics, the average is 15 minutes.
2. Is It Wrong That You Only Sleep on Your Chest?
It is a mistake to think that the breast is only food. It is also how babies perceive that they are in the safe territory: with their mother, in her arms, and with food nearby.
In addition to food, the chest is so right for falling asleep because it gives security and comfort.
If your son is unwell, in pain, or insecure, where can he be better than next to his mother’s breast? That is why the chest is so right for falling asleep because it gives security and comfort.
All children are weaned, so if that helps you sleep better, for now, go ahead. Think that the moment you detach, you may have to look for an “extra” source of comfort for your child: hugs and kisses, pacifiers, dolls, singing songs, etc.
3. Do You Use the Breast as a Pacifier?
It is not that the child uses the breast as a pacifier, but the pacifiers were invented to simulate the chest since, in all cultures and all mammals, it is common to have babies near the mother’s womb.
The child uses it for what it was intended: as a source of food and comfort. And that is why men have created the pacifier for those moms who limit access to the breast because the need to suck the mother’s nipple is common in all primates.
4. Is It Better to Lie Down Alone or in the Company?
Man is designed, like all mammals, to sleep together while small.
Today, 80% of the world’s child population has slept in the company. This is the average between companies such as Japan or Finland, which almost reach 90%, and some countries in Europe and the United States, where the figure drops to 54%.
In our country, even occasionally, 54% of minors sleep with their parents in the room. There is no reason to believe that this is abnormal.
If it is more comfortable for you to sleep with your baby so that you do not have to get up so much, you can do it. But you should also know that it is also beneficial for them.
