There’s nothing more frustrating for a parent than a child who won’t sleep or can’t sleep or who sleeps irregularly. But there is something you can do to resolve this!

A very common sleep problem with infants, toddlers, and preschoolers is a disorder that stems from issues of the parent and child sleeping together. There are many children who insist on being nursed to sleep or on having a parent lie beside them until he or she falls asleep. Parents don’t realize sometimes that these well-meaning habits have created a difficulty.

When the child awakens and finds the parent is not beside them, they may not be able to settle back into sleep. This can lead to frequent nightly arousals, unpleasant for both the child and the parent.

On way of solving this is to put the child to bed when he or she is drowsy but still awake. You need to, in other words, put the child to bed at a time that coincides with natural sleep onset rather than an arbitrary hour the parent has chosen as bedtime. Of course, most children protest when their bedtime routine is changed. But coping with any crying can be done if you maintain communication with your child, explaining what is happening in a soothing and comforting way. Talking in a slow, quiet voice to a child who is distressed or angry can help calm both the parent and the child. You don’t have to go to the extreme of allowing infants to cry themselves to sleep. This is unnecessary and potentially harmful.

Nighttime snacks and drinks, with the exception of water, should be avoided, for obvious reasons. They can increase arousals in the night and also affect dental health.

Sometimes a child will be exposed to frightening media or other events, such as a death in the family or arrival of a new brother or sister. More severe stressors, can exist and which should be taken into account and explored.

Many problems can be settled with a child by giving them a small amount of extra attention and conversation at bedtime. You would, of course, keep it calm. No tickling fights.

Based on the same warnings that adults must pay attention to in taking medications, drugs are not recommended for children, even in very tiny doses. Children are much more resilient than adults and will respond well to lots of love and affection.

Sleeping problems are common among teenagers; where they may feel wide awake in the late-evening hours, not being able to sleep until 3 or 4 AM. Then at school, their performance is impaired. They may even fall asleep in the morning classes. Changing such a sleep cycle is a challenge, but likely can be accomplished by setting the morning wake-up time 15 minutes earlier each successive day until the desired target is reached. Accompany this by exposure to bright natural light.