Here are 5 ways to help your baby sleep better during the summer months.

Everyone is often struggling to sleep during the summer, especially babies and young toddlers. Here are 5 ways you can help them get more sleep:

1 Want your baby to sleep better during the summer? Try keeping his/her bedroom cool!

Babies and young toddler’s bodies do not regulate temperature as well as adults’ bodies do, therefore it’s up to us as parents to ensure they stay cool. Young babies and toddlers can easily become overheated; if they feel too hot, they cannot remove their own blankets or clothing in order to help cool down.

During the hot summer, use a fan to help keep them cool and comfortable. Make sure air is circulated in your child’s room but be mindful of where you point the fans; pointing fans directly at your child’s bed can cause them to become cold, so be sure to have the fan oscillating at all times.

Keeping the curtains pulled during the day and the windows shut can also help keep your child’s bedroom at a cool, comfortable temperature.

2 It’s only getting hotter, so make sure your baby or toddler is dressed appropriately for the summer.

Keeping your baby cool during a heatwave can be challenging, but with the right steps, you can help them cool and comfortable whilst in bed. If you have a newborn baby and you’re swaddling, you will want to use a thinner material around them to keep them cool.

Babies and young toddlers cannot remove their own clothes, so it’s important that parents pay close attention to how they dress their children.

Dressing your child appropriately often requires common sense. You know your child better than anyone else so you’re in the best position to make the right decisions. If it’s warm outside, try not to dress them in long clothes or baby grows. Instead of using normal everyday wear that may be heavy, try dressing them in loose, lightweight clothing that allows them to stay cool and relaxed. You could even allow your baby or toddler to have some time in just their nappy.

3 Summer days are long and your baby or toddler is likely to be struggling to adjust to sleeping when it’s still light outside. Help them get used to the long summer days by providing them with a dark room of their own.

During the long summer days, it can be tricky to keep your child’s room dark. Blackout blinds provide a great way to keep baby’s and toddler’s rooms cool and dark during summer. These can be purchased as permanent fixings or, alternatively, you can also purchase portable blackout blinds that can be removed at the end of summer. It’s also possible to purchase blackout-lined curtains in a variety of children friendly themes and colours, so there are always plenty of options when it comes to keeping your baby or toddler’s room dark during summer.

4 Try not to stray from your child’s normal routine.

You’ve worked hard to ensure your baby or toddler has a great bedtime routine – so don’t ruin it now!

With the days being longer, you may be tempted to keep everyone up a little later than usual in order to enjoy the days more, however, this can have a detrimental effect on your child’s ability to get a good night’s sleep. Instead of staying up later, stick with what your child already knows and do your best to keep up with their normal bedtime and sleep routine.

5 To help your baby or toddler to sleep better during the summer months, keep them safe from the sun.

Too much time in the sun can dehydrate your baby or toddler as well as make them grumpy or unsettled. It’s important to respect their needs and give them plenty of opportunities to move out of the sun and drink lots of water. A child that has been kept comfortable during the day is more likely to be comfortable enough to sleep in the evening as well.