How to Get Siblings to Go to Sleep

The introduction of a new child into a family can often be difficult for the sibling of the new child. As a result, sleep patterns are often disrupted and your older child may regress into a childish state to compete with the new kid. If this is affecting your child's sleep schedule, there are certain steps you can take to reduce inherent sibling rivalry.

Consistency

• For young children, it's important to keep them on a consistent and regimented sleep schedule. While the odds of both of your children sleeping easily through the night are low, especially if they're infants, getting a consistent routine together will enforce sleep on your children. In addition to a sleep ritual, having your children do the same thing every night before bed, such as reading a book, brushing their teeth and changing into pajamas, will help further establish the routine.

Positive Reinforcement

• While getting two children to sleep can sometimes be more difficult than one, supplying your kids with ample positive reinforcement will help incentivize sleeping. For example, if one sibling is ready for bed but the other refuses to go to sleep, instead of arguing with the child, simply praise and compliment the sibling that does want to go to sleep. The natural competition found in sibling rivalries may be all you need to give your other child the motivation to go to bed.

Reading

• In addition to being a good educational tool, reading out loud is an effective way to tire out your children before bed. If the siblings in your household share a room, have them read out loud to each other before bed. This will get one child tired from reading while the other one is soothed to sleep by the story. If neither of your children can read yet, try reading out loud to both of them until they fall asleep.

Exercise

• Keeping your children active during the day will help them maintain a consistent and regular sleep schedule. After-school sports and activities, such as baseball, soccer and football, will help your kids increase their heart rate's and get ready to settle down around bedtime. In addition, limiting the amount of sugar your children consume, especially in the evenings, will help keep your children from staying awake into the early morning hours.