Helping Your Child Get A Great Night's Sleep

HELPING YOUR CHILD GET A GREAT NIGHT'S SLEP 22 Experts Share Their Top Tips Getting a great night's sleep is important for both parents and children alike, however it's often easier said than done. As such, we asked 22 child sleep experts to share their top tips: KIM WEST The Sleep Lady My best tip for parents is simple: choose the sleep coaching method that best fits your parenting style and your child's temperament. Then be consistent! LUCY SHRIMPTON The Sleep Nanny One thing you can do to help your little one sleep better is: Avoid Over Tiredness. It might seem rational to think that if you wear your child out enough during the day, he will surely sleep well that night right? Wrong. The opposite is actually true. An overtired child is more likely to have a harder time settling to sleep, have more awakenings in the night and be prone to early rising. (I class anything before 6 a.m as early rising). JUDY CLARK BabyWinkz Put your baby down AWAKE so that they learn to fall asleep independently without the use of props, such as a dummy or bottle of milk. Helping your baby to learn how to sleep soundly and independently is a gift you can bestow on them that will encourage not only healthy development but also a happy, well rested child. Jo WILTSHIRE Author, Journalist & Parenting Expert A quick tip for a much-needed nap - if your baby or younger child desperately needs a sleep but won't settle, try a 'white-out'. If you're on the go, you can face their pram or baby carrier towards a white wall. If you have a clean muslin, drape it in front of them. The idea is to block out stimulation and allow your child to 'switch off. LUCY JONES Love Mornings If your bedtime routine is starting to feel more stressful than soothing, one thing which can help is giving your toddler choices so that they feel they have a little say over proceedings. So instead of asking them to put their PJs on, ask them if they'd like to wear the blue or the red ones. Rather than telling them it's bath time, skip straight to enquiring which toys they'd like to take in with them. 2T TIZZIE HALL Save Our Sleep Always feed your baby until your baby is full. Once your milk has come in, never restrict the amount of time your baby drinks at the breast or if you are bottle feeding, never give your baby a set amount of milk. If your baby drinks the bottle offer your baby more milk if they want it. MARYANNE TAYLOR Child Sleep Works My top tip for helping a child sleep through the night is to be very consistent when handling wake ups. If your child gets different responses, this will confuse and frustrate them thereby increasing crying. To keep frustration levels to a minimum, choose an approach that feels right for you and your child and follow it through consistently. HELEN PACKHAM The Family Sleep Coach Little ones like predictability and stability, and so an age appropriate day routine with the right amount of naps is crucial to pave the way for sound slumbers at night. This prevents the release of cortisol and the possibility of your child becoming wired and overtired at bedtime. This can lead to restless sleep and early rising. A JENNIE HARRISON Sleep Deprived Mums Coach My top tip for helping your child sleep at night is to focus on the reason why. There is so much information out there to help your Little One sleep and the majority of it focuses on how to fix behaviour. This to me is a little like putting a plaster over a sore. it's a temporary fix. Once you establish why, it's so much easier to help them sleep. It's not a quick fix but it does bring a long term solution. MICHELLE MCAVOY 10 Lovebugs Sleep Coaching My number one tip for improving your child's sleep right away is EXERCISE! Our children have high energy levels and they need an outlet for that energy before they are asked to rest. Science has proven that exercise, especially in combination with healthy nutrition, leads to better overall sleep and a decreased risk of developing childhood sleep apnea. So after dinner, I encourage you to leave the dishes in the sink and go straight outside for some active play! ANDREA ÉLOVSON A 11 Sleepy Bug The top tip I would give parents to help their child sleep better at night is to avoid too late a bedtime. Children who are up past their body's natural bedtime quickly become "over-tired/wired". This makes it more difficult for them to both fall asleep at bedtime and stay asleep overnight. Familiarise yourself with recommended bedtimes for your child's age and do your best to make it happen whenever possible. DEE BOOTH 12 Sleep Fairy & Parent Rescue My top tip is to let babies, toddlers and children to learn to calm down independently, without the help of their parent, or a dummy or comforter. When little people rely on movement, patting or comforters to calm them down, they will need them when they wake during the night. If they can learn to calm down independently during the day, they will be able t every time they cry during the day, they have help calming, they won't be able to do it on their own at night and will disturb their parents. Some babies find it harder to calm than others, and some are very won't learn to calm down if they are never given the chance to try. it when they wake in the night. But if rong-willed, but they will all eventually learn. However, they NICOLA WATSON Child Sleep Solutions Consistency, perseverance and happiness are the key! We all understand the difficulties involved with your child not sleeping.feeling tired and emotional and defeated. It's ok; with a few small changes you can have a beautiful sleeping baby and no more dark circles and tears (from you and baby)!! The key to good sleep is choosing a technique you are happy with and you and your family can stick to because consistency is the key to success! Once you are committed to your approach persevere.you will have times when you are taking one step forward and two back, but with a constant and positive approach before long your child and you will be sleeping through the night. LYNDSEY HOOKWAY Little Sleepers For newborns - try to remember where they're coming from. They've been tightly held in your womb, protected from light, cold air and noise, rocked by your movements, never put down and surrounded by white noise. They can't just adapt overnight! So try to recreate a womb-like environment for them to help them adapt and feel safe. Try white noise, using a Sleepyhead (or make your own nest with a rolled up towel), leave something with your smell on and dim the lights. STEPHANIE BAKER 15 Sweet Sleep Solutions If your child can put themselves to sleep at bedtime, they are more likely to put themselves back to sleep throughout the night. We all have partial arousals during the night as we move in and out of sleep cycles. As adults, we might not even remember them occurring. We might adjust our pillow and go back to sleep. A child, who doesn't put themselves to sleep at bedtime, will wake up during these partial arousals and need a parent to put them back to sleep. KAVITHA NAIR 16 Kavitha Baby Sleep Coach Respect daytime sleep and make naps a priority. Getting enough sleep during the day will help their brains grow and develop. Skipping naps will only lead to more night wakening. It is important to meet your baby's needs and as important to find out what soothing techniques work for your baby. Every baby will have their own sleep cues, it is therefore important to know what is your baby's unique signal and accordingly put them down when they are tired. A consistent and a flexible routine helps as they bring predictability into their little world and they will be happy knowing what to expect. And importantly, when possible Sleep when your baby sleeps! ALISON SCOTT-WRIGHT The Magic Sleep Fairy At some point you may think of going on holiday and the simplest way to ensure easy travel and quick acceptance of a time zone change with your baby is to have a well established daytime feeding and nighttime sleeping schedule in place before baby's body clock is already programmed to eat during the day and sleep during the night, it will make adapting to a different time zone much easier. Ensure your baby's body clock is already used to the natural combination of set feed-times and naps throughout a 12 you go. If your hour day, have a reqular bedtime routine and for her nights to be established an 11 to 12 hour sleep throughout the night. DIANE PAWSEY 18 Family Sleep Consultant Starting with a nice bath, you can still have fun. Just remember you only have 30 minutes from when you go up stairs, to when you place your child in bed. Low lighting in the bedroom, provides a calm atmosphere. After little one is ready for bed, milk is given. Older babies & toddlers will enjoy a short story before saying goodnight. BRENDA HART 19 Brenda The Nanny My top tip for a 3.5 year old who gets out of bed would be to make him independent once you have said good night. So make sure he has his cuddly toy, small non spill drink, enough to keep him warm, that he is safe in his bed and then he has no need to require your assistance in the night. TINA SOUTHWOOD 20 Sleep Baby Sleep Sleep really does breed sleep! An overtired baby will take longer to settle and her sleep will not be as deep and her will not be as well rested if kept awake for long periods. It is essential that you do not over stimulate a baby, but observe her body language and signs for tiredness. Ensure she is well fed and comfortable, a baby with wind will not settle. Once you can recognise these signs then repetition and consistency are key to encouraging your baby to sleep well. EMILY-JANE CLARK Stolen Sleep If you have a baby that WILL not sleep no matter what, the best thing you can do is to stop worrying about it! Your baby WILL learn to sleep through the night eventually and you will learn NOT to sleep through the night eventually. So stock up on coffee and wait for it to pass. Because take it from me - it will. JOANNA CLARK 22 Blissful Baby Sleep Coaching Does your child wake up alert and ready to start their day BEFORE 6am? If so, your child is experiencing the difficult dilemma of Early Rising. Early Rising is one of the most difficult sleep concerns to resolve. The first step is to identify the "red flags" that increase the probably of an early rising event. Keep a sleep log of your child's schedule to see if your child's early rising is caused from one or all of the following scenarios: You child is not reaching the age - appropriate daytime sleep expectations. At bedtime your child is "conking out" in your arms or on the breast or bottle. Your child is "too drowsy" when you actually put your child down to sleep. Your child is staying awake too long between afternoon nap and bedtime. Until a child learns how to self-soothe to sleep at bedtime, your child will have a harder time resolving early rising and will often "need" their sleep crutch in order to go back to sleep after an early rising event. Sleepy People.com Lthe place for a great night's sloep Brought to you by SleepyPeople.com