Getting children to sleep through the night can be a really tricky task for parents.
A children's gentle sleep consultant has shared her expert advice regarding bedtime for the little ones, reports The Mirror.
Jennifer Robinson, also known as The Happy Sleep Coach, has also told the importance of routine.
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The mum-of-two predominantly works with children aged between 18 weeks and seven-years-old.
The expert says that she encourages her clients to follow a seven-to-seven sleep schedule as much they can, but there are times when you can bring bedtime forward by around an hour.
She told the Mirror: "So a 7pm bedtime and a 7am wake up is what we would aim for."
Jennifer added: "If you find your child is waking before six or seven o'clock in the morning then we would bring the bedtime forward to counteract that.
"We generally say 12 hours awake and 12 hours asleep for a child who is nine months old and that carries on all the way until they are at least seven years old.
"Before nine months bedtimes can vary significantly as it would depend on the baby's daytime sleep and how late their last nap was."
The expert also said: "Children get so tired, especially when starting nursery and school as the new environments are so stimulating for them, but how tired they are will also depend on how much sleep they've had during the day from naps.
"A lot of children start dropping naps when they go to nursery at the age of three and we often start seeing night wakes or early rising at that point.
"The loss of the nap, coupled with the super stimulating environment they're in during the day, running around getting very tired, can see children getting themselves into an overtired cycle.
"A sign of this may be that your child is falling asleep really easily in the car on the way home as they're so tired."
Jennifer said that in this situation, you may want to bring the bedtime forward to 6pm instead of 7pm.
The mum-of-two explained that many parents often mistakenly believe that if their child is waking up before 7am, it must mean they've had too much sleep.
They may think bedtime needs to be later, when actually it may be the case that their child should to go bed earlier.
Jennifer explained: "While the aim is seven until seven and that's what I tell my clients, some children just don't sleep until 7am every day, but as long as they are getting their fill of sleep overnight and the right amount of sleep for their age, it's ok.
"Most parents don't want their kids going to bed at eight or nine o'clock at night, as they might want to eat after they're asleep and have some 'me time'.
"It might sound selfish, but parents need to be the best versions of themselves to be the best parents they can be and if they're tired and haven't had time to wash their hair or make dinner, they're not going to be in the right frame of mind."
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