This is a guest post.

Making sure that your child gets a good’s night sleep is often as important for you as it is for them. Below is a list of top tips on techniques that you can use to try and help your child to get to sleep:

 
1. One great way of helping your child to sleep well in the evenings is by giving them a warm bath, perhaps with some relaxing bubble bath or oils, and then settle in to a 20-30 minute routine to help them ready themselves for a good night’s sleep.

 

2. Comfort is everything. Ensure that the room is at the correct temperature and that clothes and blankets don’t restrict your child’s movement so that your child is settled and relaxed.

 

3. Having warm feet is well-known to be a natural sedative, and so make sure that putting on your baby’s booties, or your kids slipper-socks on along with their pyjamas in their pre-bedtime routine.

 

4. Allowing your child to seep with a special toy or plaything can often help with getting them off to sleep. Cuddly toys or their own blankets can sooth and comfort your child once you leave the room.

 

5. You should make sure that your children eat any large meals or snacks well before bedtime as it can otherwise make it hard for them to sleep afterwards.

 

6. It may sound obvious, but however many times your kids might ask you, don’t let them drink any caffeinated drinks before they go to bed. The traditional mug of warm milk or a simple glass of water should help quench their thirst and sooth them ready for bed.

 

7. Many parents find that gentle rocking is a good way to get the kids off to sleep. Whilst it is, you should be careful not to make a habit of it else they may then find it harder to get back to sleep without the motion of being rocked or be prone to wake up in the night.

 

8. Get your child to lie flat and snuggled-up on their beds, read them a bedtime story or sing a few lullabies to help them drift off to sleep. The sound of a loving voice and setting their imaginations off is a great way to induce deep dreamy sleep.

 

9. Whether it’s with babies or toddlers, if they cry or call out for you then always leave it a short while before going in to them. This will make them realise that they should be sleeping, and will also give them the chance to drift off in the meantime.

 

10. Rubbing or patting a child on the back is a great way to get them off to sleep. But some children have particular ‘soft-spots’, and massaging their feet, elbows or the back of their necks often works wonders as well.

 

Try mixing a few of these techniques up a bit and eventually you and your child will find the best routine to help them get the right amount of sleep; allowing you to relax for a bit too!

This article is provided by SnuggNightwear, an online boutique specialising in girls and boys pyjamas and bedtime accessories.

Copyright © 2011 My Thoughts, Ideas, and Ramblings. This Feed is for personal non-commercial use only. If you are not reading this material in your news aggregator, the site you are looking at is guilty of copyright infringement. Please contact mythoughtsideasandramblings.com @ gmail.com so we can take legal action immediately.

This is a guest post.

The best of the evening events is going on in your town. You have to seek out and find a babysitter if you want to attend. You’ve looked around and found a sitter that you believe you can trust with your precious kids. So far, things are going off as planned. Does the babysitter that you’ve hired know what it takes to care for your kids?

Are you sure that you’re able to trust your kids to the sitter? Are you sure that you’re able to go out and have an evening that is worry-free? The experts tell us that the most important qualities that you will want in your babysitter are your trust, and their ability to handle a crisis of any magnitude. This means typically that a teenager isn’t your best bet unless they have some solid experience in caring for children and have also taken child care classes.

Finding a sitter who is well prepared.
The leading cause of injury or death for children under five is an accident in the home. Every day, statistics tell us that five kids under the age of five will die in a home accident. It is imperative that you will hire a person who knows how to handle and accident if one should take place. It is more than important that you are able to feel safe and secure in your choice of a sitter. Teens will likely be one of your first choices. Be careful when you hire a sitter who is under 21 that you ask to see their credentials and that you request their knowledge of skills and emergency skills.

What To Ask Your Baby Sitter

Several questions spring to mind instantly that you should be asking your babysitter prior to leaving them alone for your outing. Seek out a sitter from among your own community if at all possible. You can ask questions of your church, your local senior center, your school, or your youth group or teen center. Ask questions of those for whom they have worked in the past and then of the person who will be attending your kids.

Find out from your prospective sitter whether they have first aid training. Ask questions about their past positions and when you do, find out how many children the child care worker has watched at one time. Ask for references from your prospective sitter. Do not fail to check those references. In many cases, we make the assumption that because they gave us the name and number, it’s not necessary to check them. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Check every reference and ask specific questions about how well they interact with the children. Find out about their past and any classes they may have taken to help them to be better able to deal with your children. Set specific rules for your sitter, and then ask your children if they were adhered to. Make it a point to ask questions and to get answers before you leave anyone alone with your kids.

Joyce Brister is a loving parent and blogger for the My Baby Blog.  Joyce loves writing about situations that parents are often faced with.  She would like for you to take a look at the Glenna Jean Isabella Collection or her  Baby Crib Bedding Sets at MyBabyBeddingShop.com

Copyright © 2011 My Thoughts, Ideas, and Ramblings. This Feed is for personal non-commercial use only. If you are not reading this material in your news aggregator, the site you are looking at is guilty of copyright infringement. Please contact mythoughtsideasandramblings.com @ gmail.com so we can take legal action immediately.

We’ve had a fun last couple of days. Madison caught a nasty summer virus. What do I mean by nasty? Well, it causes fevers for up to 7 days and blisters in the back of your throat! At this point, she’s complaining that it hurts when she swallows. She’s had fevers up to 104 degrees already. She’s been to her doctor, so we’ve ruled out strep throat. However, I’m keeping my fingers crossed. We are suppose to go camping this weekend and I’m hoping she gets better so we can still go. I’m also hoping Will doesn’t get this. It’s pretty nasty.

And potty training. If I only had one kid, I would think we are great. Overall, Will seems to get it. His accidents are more of the #2 variety. I can deal with that. He did start speech therapy last week, and it went well. I think he may be ready for preschool come fall (though he needs to be 100% potty trained by then).

Copyright © 2011 My Thoughts, Ideas, and Ramblings. This Feed is for personal non-commercial use only. If you are not reading this material in your news aggregator, the site you are looking at is guilty of copyright infringement. Please contact mythoughtsideasandramblings.com @ gmail.com so we can take legal action immediately.

Seriously, of all weeks to get sick, THIS IS NOT THE ONE!  Okay, done yelling.  To make matters worse, Bill and I have the same cold.  Now, the only thing worse at this point is if we would have gotten sick in a couple of days like the morning of Disney.  Even so, this sucks.  Seriously.  I have some major packing and some major work that needs to get done this week.  I don’t have time to be sick.  Ick.

Now, while I am gone I’ve got some cool stuff happening.  Still not sure if I am going to have internet (working on Bill to let me get it).  However, I will be doing some testing this week with some pictures from my phone.  If everything works well, they will autopost for me.  I can then hopefully keep you all updated on our Disney advertures.

It’s off to bed right now though, it’s 12:20 am, and I’m never going to get better without sleep.  See ya later alligator. 

Copyright © 2011 My Thoughts, Ideas, and Ramblings. This Feed is for personal non-commercial use only. If you are not reading this material in your news aggregator, the site you are looking at is guilty of copyright infringement. Please contact mythoughtsideasandramblings.com @ gmail.com so we can take legal action immediately.

So — I am about a month late on this one, but better late than never, right?     Well, she had a great 5th birthday.  The weather got a little hairy for my parents to make it down, but they did.  Madison had a blast, and she loved her ballerina cake that  got her.  She got a ton of great gifts too!

Copyright © 2011 My Thoughts, Ideas, and Ramblings. This Feed is for personal non-commercial use only. If you are not reading this material in your news aggregator, the site you are looking at is guilty of copyright infringement. Please contact mythoughtsideasandramblings.com @ gmail.com so we can take legal action immediately.