Q & A: any tips for helping my child stay in bed at night?

a client recently asked if i had any shui that would help her 8-year old stay / sleep in her own bed. so, if this is YOU, too, here are a few suggestions to help your chicks stay in their nests:

encourage your little to pick out a ‘protector.’ it could be a stuffed animal, a statue, a photo, or a flashlight – anything that says safety to them. place it near the bed. alternatively, you might work ‘protection’ into the room. consider crystals – like rose quartz, malachite, or smoky quartz – as dresser handles or book ends. 

punctuate the room with happy photos of you, grandparents, or loved ones. these are subtle reminders of their secure place in a happy family. this “company” also becomes a loving embrace to sink into at night.

if yours fancies the idea, move the bed into a corner. why? for anyone under the age of 10, sleeping against two walls offers the reassurance of safety and support. 

be mindful when choosing / adding colors to the room. at young ages, it’s all about energy. so yours might naturally be drawn to vibrant hues. help them balance that Yang energy out with a softer palette. otherwise, they will LOVE playing in their rooms, but they’ll have a hard time calming down enough to catch those Zzzzs. 

most importantly, remember that your little is digesting information all day long. everything for them is pretty much a brand-new experience – a very Yang experience (quick, loud, stimulating) all day, every day. the one constant in their lives is CHANGE, so their natural instinct is to self-soothe. their bedroom deserves every chance to be reprieve-worthy. this is why they create nests of their own with stuffed animals, random treasures, and little trinkets. while their collections might seem like clutter to you, it is how they nourish and nurture their systems and souls – a very Yin response (quiet, slow, settled). resist the need to edit – if they feel good in their room, let that comfort override your design aesthetic. xo