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Mental Health and Wellbeing Update

Nikki Olsen

Mental Health and Wellbeing Update

Nikki Olsen | Mental Health and Wellbeing Leader | Ripponlea Primary School

Helping Your Child Wind Down for Sleep

Healthy Habits, Together

As the term flies by, you might notice your child finding it hard to switch off at bedtime. After a busy day of learning, playing and navigating friendships, a primary schooler’s mind can still be racing at 8 pm. This week we focus on how to relax when we go to bed, with simple strategies families can try at home.

Our key message: a calm body and a quiet mind help children fall asleep. Relaxing is a skill, and like any skill, it gets easier with practice.

WHY SLEEP MATTERS

Sleep is when children’s bodies grow and repair, and when their brains sort and store what they learned during the day. A well-rested child finds it easier to concentrate, remember, manage big feelings and get along with friends. A tired child is more likely to feel cranky, worried or overwhelmed, and to find schoolwork harder.

Australian guidelines recommend that children aged 5–13 get 9 to 11 hours of sleep each night. For a child who wakes at 7 am, that means being asleep somewhere between 8 and 10 pm. Younger children usually need the earlier end of that range.

WHY IT CAN BE HARD TO SWITCH OFF

Lying in a quiet, dark room is often when worries about the day or tomorrow pop up. If your child’s body is still wound up, they may toss and turn, take a long time to fall asleep or have a restless night. A calm “bridge” between busy daytime activities and sleep makes a big difference.

FOUR TECHNIQUES TO TRY TONIGHT

1. Balloon breathing. Your child lies down and imagines their tummy is a balloon. They breathe in slowly through their nose to “blow it up”, hold for two seconds, then breathe out slowly through their mouth to “let it down”. You can put a soft toy on their tummy and watch it rise and fall. Three or four slow breaths helps the body slow down. We’ve been practising belly breathing at school, so ask your child to show you! Try saying: “Let’s smell a flower… and now blow out a candle… slowly.”

More ideas: breathing exercises for children and parents.

2. Squish and relax. A fun version of muscle relaxation. Starting at the toes and working up to the face, your child squeezes one part of their body as tight as they can for five seconds, then lets it go floppy:

Toes: scrunch them in the sand
Hands: squeeze a lemon
Shoulders: pull them up to your ears like a turtle
Face: scrunch it up like you’ve tasted something sour

Noticing the difference between “tight” and “floppy” helps children learn what relaxed feels like.

Try the full muscle relaxation activity.

3. Worry notebook. If your child lies awake worrying about school, friends or tomorrow, keep a notebook or “worry box” by the bed. They can draw or write their worries and “leave them in the book” until morning. Make a time the next day to talk about them together, so your child knows their worries will be heard, just not at bedtime.

See these sleep relaxation strategies in pictures (also available in 10 community languages).

4. The 60-minute screen reset. Light from screens tells the brain it’s still daytime, and games and videos keep the mind busy. Swap tablets, phones and TV for a book, drawing, a puzzle or an audio story at least an hour before lights out. Charging devices outside the bedroom overnight helps too.

MAKE IT WORK FOR YOUR CHILD

Every child is different, so adapt these ideas:

Worried or anxious: practise the breathing during the day when they’re calm, so it’s familiar when they need it.
Busy and high-energy: add movement. Stretch arms up while breathing in and bring them down while breathing out.
Needs extra support with instructions: show them what to do, break it into small steps and count the breaths out loud together.
Sensitive to noise, light or touch: practise in a quiet, dim room and let them hold a favourite soft toy or blanket.
Older and more independent: they might like a guided relaxation or sleep session on their own. The free Smiling Mind app has sessions for children and adults, including for sleep, created by psychologists. Choose sessions together and switch the device off afterwards.

A SAMPLE CALM EVENING (8 PM BEDTIME)

6.45 pm: screens off. Quiet play, drawing or reading.
7.15 pm: bath or shower, pyjamas, brush teeth, toilet.
7.35 pm: into bed for a story or a quiet chat about the best part of the day.
7.50 pm: balloon breathing or squish and relax.
8.00 pm: goodnight and lights out.