Kate Silverton Instagram – If you want to help your children – or yourself – to feel less anxious at night time .. consider that our anxious / skittish behaviour is driven by the most ancient part of the brain – the brain stem. I refer to in my book as ‘the lizard’ – it’s a deeply unconscious part of our brain – it does not ‘think’ or ‘reason’ its only job is to keep us alive so it responds in a flash to anything that it, and our nervous system, find threatening … for very young children it could be shadows on the wall, the noise of the boiler or the TV downstairs … it regulates our breathing / eating and sleeping patterns… so essentially if it’s out of kilter – so are we. Learning how to work WITH this part of the brain means we can learn how to soothe ’ it when it’s skittish … and we can help our children too. Using gentle words and a soft tone, sit with your child tonight if they are anxious and talk soothingly – telling them softly ‘it’s ok, you’re safe sweetheart, I’m here, it’s ok,’ and staying with your child until they fall asleep can be enough to help their ancient brain to feel more secure and in time they’ll fall asleep more easily … I know it can be frustrating and yes it can take time .. but our children – or more specifically their ancient ‘lizard ‘ have lived through a very frightening time in their short lives with covid and all the associated stress that came with it … there are many things that might be unsettling our children and if you have deep concerns you must always seek professional support … but in the first instance, being curious about what MIGHT be making your child feel less safe allows you to intuitively work with them to reduce those feelings:
– leave a small night light on,
– spend half an hour extra in quiet time
– read with them before bed ( no screens !)
– place a palm gently on the small of their back or their solar plexus as they lie in the dark, grounding them and those fuzzy feelings
– a little massage if they welcome it, or a pitter pattter on their back with your fingers
Ask your child what they feel might help too … they might not know the words … but they know how they want to feel .. #sleep #anxiety #anxietyrelief #parenting | Posted on 03/Feb/2024 01:52:17
