Every parent for the sake of sanity, organization and to bring up healthy children should consider having a bedtime routine for them and their children. When your children have great sleep health everyone else around them is happy and less stressed. The bedtime for most parents may be the same as it is part of the norm. However, around the world routines are different, unique and work for other parents as well. These routines also depend on cultural backgrounds, climates and socio-economic backgrounds. Other than the usual common routine of bath, massage and quiet time here are other routines from different places that have helped parents put their children to sleep.
Afghanistan
In this part of the world. As you make your bed you lie on it. The bedtime routine here is different from the American way since it is a Muslim based country. Time for bed is planned according to the sunset and the time of the night time prayers that are done on a day to day basis. Therefore, kids here sleep late due to the parent’s daily routine. Also there are no specific bedrooms for the children the routine involves a lot of organization. Due to their culture and way of life, the bedtime routine involves choosing where they sleep at night. Therefore, you pick your puffy mattress and other beddings and make your bed to sleep. Then by morning instead of making the beds like other countries you fold your beddings to create space to be used during the day. it is different but it is a routine that works perfectly for them and their children.
Australia
Here sleep is a priority and it is spearheaded by the government and it is a nation that has mastered the early to bed as an important feature in their sleep routine. It does not only apply to adults but the kids as well. For instance, they do have a program through their government known as the hospital adjacent sleep camp. This program is to assist parents to learn more about sleep routines and how an early bedtime is an important sleep ritual for a child to master. The nurses are part of this program to assist the parents and many of the Australian kids benefit from this as the average sleeping hours’ Australian kids are nine and a half hours a night. This is a great bedtime routine practice and one many parent should emulate.
Egypt
The bedtime routine in Egypt is unique and not far from what their ancestors in the Bible did. Their sleep routine is a polyphasic one, whereby they sleep six hours with short snoozes. The routine involves activities like opening the windows of your room and giving an old chicken wing to a parent or sibling to as a sign that they should create a room in the bed. And you fall asleep all together as co-sleeping is a common practice in Egypt. Another interesting fact is that the siesta here is in the afternoon for at most 2 hours. It is important to note that the open windows are not bothersome to them due to the noises outside for they are used to it. Although the open window practice is not used by some most still embrace the practice.
Spain
Parents in Spain have a sleep routine that is on another level compared to the norm in most countries. As many parents prepare the children’s bedtime for an early sleep. Spain’s parents do not think it is necessary and the bedtime for children there is past 10:00 pm as a normal routine. Interestingly, it works for them as many of the parents in Spain believe a child should develop more through the social aspect and so they focus on it more. As much as research has been carried out there. Researchers do not find the sleep routine bad only that it is unique and having invented the siesta the people here may know something concerning sleep that most people do not.
Sweden
The practice that is done by the Swedish parents is also unique and it helps the child relate to the movement and the secure feeling in the womb. The procedure is simple just a warm bath, brush and buff. Yes, a buff. The reason buffing works whereby the child’s butt is pat on in a certain rhythm until they fall asleep is because it’s just that. A replica of the womb’s movements. It is a popular routine among them and the best-known practice among the Finnish and Danish. This is an excellent sleep pun that other parents can copy.
Philippines
The procedure that is followed by Filipino parents is easy and effective. First, the child is put on a hammock before they are transferred to the bed for a full night’s rest. This is an age-old practice that is practiced from infants while in hospital. Just like the Swedish bedtime practice where they imitate the womb movements as they believe. In the Philippine, the use of the hammock is of a similar reason. Since they believe while the baby was in the womb they are accustomed to swaying, rocking bouncing and soothing as a hammock feels. The Swiss parents practice this too and it can be in a cradle or a swing. Other people use the hammock to sleep but it is mostly to get a nap or for siesta purposes.
Given the above ways of different children bedtime routines globally. The idea for all this is to ensure that the child gets to sleep. Fortunately, as the world gets more global it would be easier to practice these different routines even when you do not live there. Then we can find a way to get children to sleep and establish a routine for them from a young age. In other parts, though, there are no routines and this also a routine in itself. Some tribes in Botswana who are hunters and gatherers do not believe or even know what sleep routines are. To them, they wake up when sleep ends and sleep when they feel tired.
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