Sleep is important for everyone, but as any parent knows, if your kids don’t sleep, you don’t sleep. They will get you up. While you can’t keep away all the sleepless nights by creating a sleep friendly bedroom for your child, you can make it as easy as possible for sleep to come.

A Sleep Friendly Bedroom Is Dark

If your child’s bedroom isn’t dark, they probably won’t sleep as well as they should. Blackout curtains will help if light comes in their window from other sources. This is especially important during the summer when the sun sets late and rises early.

Some kids need a night light for a time, but try to minimize that. If a night light is required, try to use something with an orange or red hue – blue lights are disruptive to sleep. When my nephew came to visit and needed a night light, we would turn on my salt lamp, as it has a lovely orange glow that reassured him, but all my other kids found less disruptive to their sleep.

Keep Electronics Out

Keep the electronic gadgets out of the bedroom as much as possible. They often emit quite a bit of blue light, unless they have settings that change in the evening. Electronics use is also just not a good way to wind down for the evening, no matter how many kids (and parents!) enjoy using them. Encourage everyone to read a book before bed instead.

Unclutter The Child’s Bedroom

A cluttered bedroom is hard to sleep in. It can be difficult to get some kids to keep their toys picked up and to not have an excessive number of stuffed animals in bed with them. It is a help, however, if you can build their habits so that they pick things up before bed, and only have a special lovey in bed with them.

Paint The Walls A Soothing Color

While the color of the walls can’t be seen in a dark room, a soothing color will help make a more sleep friendly bedroom for your child. Light colors are best, especially blues and greens, which most people find more relaxing.

My youngest daughter’s room, for example, is light blue, and each wall is (at her request) themed to a particular season. Snowflakes on one wall, flowers and butterflies for spring and summer, and autumn leaves for fall.

Air Out The Room

A room that hasn’t had an open window for a time doesn’t smell as nice as one that gets aired out regularly. When the weather permits, open the windows and let that fresh air in.

Keep It Cool

Much as a warm room feels nice during the day, people get better sleep in cooler temperatures. 60-67 degrees Fahrenheit is ideal.  Blankets and pajamas can be used to keep your child cozy.

Use Soothing Music

Soothing music, quietly played, can help kids sleep. White noise is another option. Keep the volume high enough to be heard, but low enough to not disturb your child’s sleep.

This is especially helpful if there’s a lot of background noise in your house or neighborhood when your kids are trying to sleep.

Bring In Nature

A little nature goes a long ways in making a sleep friendly bedroom for a child. A plant or two is a great choice. Keep them out of reach of younger kids, but as they get older, it’s something they can help take care of.

A fish tank is another good option. My youngest has a fish tank, currently occupied by goldfish purchased to handle a snail problem in our big tank. She fell in love with them, and I wanted different fish in the big tank once the snails were gone, so now they’re hers. Goldfish can live quite a while if well cared for, but are cheaper than most other fish if you get them small.

You could combine plants and fish with an aquaponic tank. It grows plants at the top, with fish below. The small ones are about three gallons, and only suitable for fish such as bettas.

Make sure the fish tank light is turned off when the kids need to sleep.

Get A Good Mattress

Kids may not complain much about an uncomfortable mattress, but a poor quality mattress can make it harder for them to sleep. Combine the mattress with comfortable bedding to help your kids sleep well.

It’s such a help when your kids sleep well. It means you can sleep better too.