Successful Sleep Away from Home: Sleepover Style
21 Aug 24 •
The summer holidays means the opportunity to spend time away from home when perhaps usually you wouldn’t be able to get the chance to due to school attendance. This means that your child sleeping outside of their normal bedroom and sleep environment becomes more common place in the summer months, as well as other holidays such as Christmas and easter too.
Whilst we tend to obsess more over baby and toddler sleep as a parent, it can be the case that school age children still find sleeping away from home challenging. Perhaps they are a little more anxious about staying away from you, or even if with them, it might be the case that they are generally just more sensitive to change. If this is your child then rest assured that we have some top pieces of advice that are going to make those trips away from home as fun and relaxing as they possible can be!
Preparation is Key
In parenting, there is nothing as important as preparation when it comes to new stages, events or activities that your child is about to take part in. Preparing them well really does make the biggest difference. Talk to your child in advance about where you are going to be staying and what the set up is. This might mean talking about what the room may look like, what they will be sleeping in, what sounds might be different to home, and point out any changes that you think are significant. Any detail is good detail. The more a child feels prepared for their time away from home, the easier it will be. This goes for not just staying away from home but for the everyday too. You can never talk and prep a child enough for their day ahead!
Create a Home from Home
If your child has a familiar comforter, or teddy that they go to bed with then always remember to take this with you! As a school age child they may not necessarily need it as they did when very little, but having familiar things with them and around them as they fall asleep can make a difference. You can also put the power into their hands by asking them to pack a small rucksack of some things that they would like to take from home to wherever it is that you are going: holiday, grandma’s house and so on… Familiarity really helps even the most sensitive of children.
Make it Super Fun
Sleeping away from home is often a novelty anyway, but adding in some extra fun and games around the nights away can make it even more appealing! This might be the suggestion of staying up “extra late”, watching a movie before going to bed, or even having a “midnight snack” (obviously not actually at midnight). Prepare yourself for slightly later bedtimes when away from home and know that things will fall back into place when you are back at home. Try and enjoy the moment, maybe even all have a sleepover together and make happy memories that will last a life time.
Our Favourite Travel Bed
The beauty of Bundle Bed’s is that they can be used both at home and also away from home, meaning that your child comes to love and feel safe and secure in their rolled up bundle bed! Bundle beds are designed to be easy to throw into the car for wherever it is that you are going and include the mattress, duvet and pillow so that you don’t have to pack lots of extra stuff too. Whatever your adventure, it feels even more special taking their very own Bundle Bed along and you can also find a bundle bed with side guards for older toddlers too, meaning no more climbing out of travel cots but rolling off mattresses – a genius invention that we have used many a time.
You can use code SLEEP10 for 10% off any Bundle Bed purchases before the 31st August 2024 and keep an eye out on socials for our Bundle Bed Giveaway!