« What parents do with their infants at bedtime […] may be less important than the emotional quality that underlies bedtime activities in promoting quality sleep in infants,” Douglas M. Teti, Department Head and Professor of Human Development and Family Studies, Psychology and Pediatrics at the Pennsylvania State University wrote in one of his research on Emotional Availability. “Feeling safe in one’s sleep environment is a prerequisite to good sleep […]. Emotionally available parents may promote feelings of safety and security in their infants, and in turn the ability to settle into and enjoy better quality sleep, than emotionally unavailable parents.”
The best opportunity to emotionally bond with your child is a relaxing and soothing bedtime routine, WITHOUT DISTRACTIONS.
Depending on your child’s age, this quiet time is a chance to connect with your child, check in about her worries, emotions, questions and curiosities.
To sum up, bedtime routine alone is not as powerful as being emotionally available while doing your bedtime routine.
Ready to give it a try?
- Leave your phone and day concerns in the living room! Don’t worry, you’ll manage !
- Do something he likes (read a book, play quietly for a few minutes, do a gentle massage, etc…)
- Kiss, hug and snuggle with your child;
- Ask your child what he liked about his day, this is HIS moment!
- But most of all, enjoy this moment with your child, being truly together!
