Belle has always been a little high-maintenance in the sleep department. It’s not her fault of course (just in case you are reading Belle), it’s just that some children seem to find it difficult to sleep. They get scared easily, they find it hard to relax in their own beds, and it can quickly become a vicious circle of associating their bed and bedroom with feeling anxious or lonely.
Although Belle spent quite a lot of time in my bed as a young child (and would now if I let her), I have always tried to keep her bedroom as comfortable and relaxing as possible, and to not make it a place that she connects with anger or stress. We do this by making sure she has her favourite things around her, choosing colours for the walls and furniture that she likes, putting up pictures and photographs and generally trying to make it as welcoming as possible.
It doesn’t always work of course, but then the grass is always greener in your mum’s bed when you are a young girl.
I was recently sent a Philips StoryLight to try out and it got me thinking about the lengths we go to to make our children’s bedrooms a nice place to be. It made me wonder if there might be other things that other parents were doing that I wasn’t thinking of – perhaps there are tricks that I am missing.
The StoryLight has been produced in collaboration with Disney and works alongside a Disney story app, turning the room different colours as you listen to the story. It’s a really interesting idea and Belle certainly loved playing with it, as did Boyfriend – I don’t think it matters how old you are when it comes to stories and pretty lights.
Here’s a little video that tells you a bit more about how it works:
Lighting has always been something we have struggled with, and even now at 11 Belle still likes to sleep with the door open and the landing light on. I have always tried to make darkness a part of bedtime, but at the same time don’t want it turn it into an issue, forcing her to sleep in the dark if she doesn’t want to. It’s a tricky balance isn’t it?
The StoryLight is part of Philips’ Imaginative Lighting range, which also includes SoftPals – night lights in the form of Disney characters. To celebrate the launch of the Imaginative Lighting Softpals range, Philips is running a competition to win one of three amazing prizes, by simply sharing a picture of your children’s Monster drawings on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram OR Pinterest using the hashtag #NotSoScary:
3rd prize: Ten 3rd prize winners will each receive a plush toy. This toy will be a hand crafted recreation of the monster drawing submitted as a part of their entry. Winners will be picked by a panel of judges
2nd Prize: Eight 2nd prize winners will receive a Philips Disney SoftPal. This will be delivered by post.
The grand prize: One trip to Disney Land Paris (for EU winners) or Disney World Florida (For USA and Canada). The prize will allow 2 day access to the Disney theme park and one overnight stay for 2 adults and 2 children. Travel costs to and from the park are included in this prize. Tickets will expire 1 year after the close of the competition.
What do you do to create a relaxing and comfortable atmosphere in your child’s bedroom?
Disclosure: We were sent the Philips StoryLight for the purposes of review.
My little one has a lot of different areas in her room for playing but when she is in bed she can’t see any of that so doesn’t ever get out of bed to play. Her room is dark but has a little night light and her bed is super comfy with pillows and her best friends to keep her safe. She sleeps like a little perfect dream x
Hiya when does\did this competition end please. I forgot to enter. :-/