Bedtime can be a stressful time for parents and young children. Sensory children have some unique challenges that interfere with the bedtime routine.. Below are some things to try that may help your sensory child during this process:

• Implement the bedtime routine at the same time each evening.

• Try reading them a personalized bedtime story. For small children, seeing themselves in the story getting ready for bed alongside their favorite animals offers a comforting sense of familiarity. Wonderbly’s personalized book format is a countdown to sleep from 5 to 1, helping to make this time of the day a special moment to look forward to. You can find it here: Bedtime For You | Personalized Bedtime Story Book for Kids | Wonderbly.

• Time between dinner and bedtime should be structured and presented to the child in a relaxed and enjoyable manner.  

• Create visual steps of the bedtime routine and put them up where your child can see them.

• Install a night lite.  There are many options available including the “Tot Clock,” an all-in-one sleep aid, alarm clock, nightlight, and timer for children 2+. This clock plays lullaby music and white noise. You can purchase here: Amazon.com: My Tot Clock Toddler Clock, White : Baby

• If your child has trouble going to bed or getting dressed, incorporate a bedtime scenario into her play such as one doll putting the other to bed, or one doll helping the other to get dressed.

• Provide organizing sensory input prescribed by your child’s OT. If your child doesn’t have an OT, use deep-pressure activities for at least 30 to sixty minutes prior to starting the bedtime routine.

• Slow, gentle, and rhythmic swinging or rocking helps to relax some children prior to bedtime (as long as the child isn’t overresponsive to movement).

• Your child’s strongest attachment relationship (the person the child feels most comfortable with) should handle the bedtime routine.

• Give auditory warnings starting 20 minutes out from bedtime routine.

• Provide choices whenever possible, e.g., “Would you like to wear the blue or red pajamas?” “Would you like to brush your teeth before or after you get dressed?” 

• If your child is sensory defensive, or motorically challenged, see the post on “Tips for Dressing” for ideas to help with dressing, etc.

• Help a child who is afraid of monsters (or other scary things) by spraying the scary things away. Fill a spray bottle with some water and explain that you are going to spray the monsters away.

• Play games in the dark, such as flashlight tag, or hide glow-in-the-dark items and do a treasure hunt in the dark to acclimate a child to darkness.

• Let your child take a transitional object of her choice, such as a stuffed animal, favorite blanket, or pillow to bed with her.

• Address sensory problems associated with high arousal by ensuring that pajamas are soft and free of seams/applique, and sheets/blankets are soft. Other calming strategies are weighted blankets, which often help relax over-aroused children, and star gazers. Star gazers project the night sky on the ceiling.

• Vibration massage mats underneath the child’s waterproof mattress cover can be calming to some children and assist with going to sleep and staying asleep.

• A child who is overresponsive to movement (vestibular), which can be consistently present or fluctuate based on regulation level, may avoid sleeping in her bed and prefer to sleep on the floor in an enclosed space such as a tent or closet.

• Many sensory children will calm in an enclosed space such as a tent covering for their bed, floor tent, or sleeping bag.

• It is important to empathize with and validate your child’s emotions to facilitate a calm state. Most sensory children suffer from chronic anxiety, and parents need to acknowledge and validate their child’s feelings.  For instance, at bedtime you can say, “I understand that you are feeling scared right now, but Mommy always comes back.”

• Aromatherapy can be helpful unless the child is overresponsive to smells.  Some top calming smells are lavender, rose, lilac, vanilla, jasmine, and sandalwood.

• Guided imagery is another great relaxation tool enabling a child to release tension and stress.  Parents can either choose to read relaxation scripts from a book or purchase digital downloads.

• Ensure your child has no vitamin or mineral deficiencies.  Magnesium deficiency has been associated with insomnia, and potassium deficiency has been associated with an inability to stay asleep at night, and lack of Vitamin D has been linked to excessive daytime sleepiness (LiveScience.com, 2013).

• Cherries are a natural source of melatonin and drinking cherry juice may be beneficial in improving sleep duration and quality. 

• Shut down all electronic devices at least one hour prior to bedtime.

• Review the Sleep Foundation’s “Children and Sleep” Article, which contains good information on the importance of sleep and tips on how to help them sleep better: Children and Sleep | Sleep Foundation.