Heading into the holiday season can be stressful for parents of young children and babies. Suddenly routine and consistent sleep schedules seem next to impossible and finding out how to keep your baby well-rested during the busy festivities is at the top of your Christmas list.
There are steps you can take to help you and your family find better sleep this holiday season. My 12 Days of Holiday Sleep Tips will give the gift of sleep to your little one, and a few extra hours of eggnog and cheers for mom and dad as well.
Sleep is one of the most confusing topics for new parents and the information out there on how to help your baby sleep better is everywhere. Your mom, best friend, and heck even the checkout girl at the grocery store is more than willing to offer their sleep training advice. So how do you weed through every sleep tip being thrown at you so that you can make the best decision for your family?
It’s time to break through those common baby sleep myths with my 10 top sleep myth busters!
Easter weekend can be busy with family gatherings, Easter dinners, and egg hunts. Your child’s sleep needs can get lost in the shuffle, and so I'm offering my list quick tips for making sure your little one’s sleep routine doesn’t disappear as fast as those chocolate bunnies do.
Bedtime routines play such an important role in your family getting a good night's sleep. For kids, a calming and consistent bedtime routine can help settle them down for sleep, cue the release of melatonin (the sleep-inducing hormone), and even help keep your toddler in his bed instead of yours during the night. While bedtime routines will be different with each child, the goal is always the same – making sure our little one is rested, relaxed, and ready for sleep.
To help keep your baby or toddler on a regular sleep routine everyone needs to be on board, and that doesn’t just mean mom and dad. Childcare providers must also be aware of your usual routine, and attempt to maintain it as much as possible. This can be a struggle for both the parent and the provider and I hear from both sides, almost everyday. Communication around these key issues is essential when working together to ensure your child is getting enough sleep.
March 17th is World Sleep Day: a day where everyone can start to focus on their sleep health. Because it’s no surprise that a good night’s sleep starts at bedtime, we are going to be working towards bringing back bedtime with some quick sleep tips to help you sleep better tonight.
When you’ve got a toddler and bedtime rolls around, it can feel like a job. Night in and night out, putting your toddler to bed can become more and more difficult. While your little one is developing their own personality, sleep and bedtime suddenly becomes a battle you’re losing miserably.
And because it’s tough on everyone when your little one isn’t getting the sleep they need, it’s important to equip yourself with the right sleep information. Here’s what you need to know to get the job done right.
When it came time to sleep train my twins my biggest struggle was incorporating my eldest daughter's schedule, then 4, into their new sleep routine. I was ready start a routine, stay consistent, and stay strong. But wait a minute; won’t the babies wake her up at night? Was it possible to remain consistent in my day-to-day routine of sleep training when I had her home as well? How could I work her schedule into the babies new one? These are common questions I’m asked by parents as many parents of multiple children experience the same sleep training issue.
When your children gets past the baby, toddler, and teething phase, it may seem your sleep problems are over with. Unfortunately, that’s not the case for many big kids. Sleep issues among kids around the age of 5 happen more often than you may think.
Here are a few of the most common 5-year-old sleep issues and how you can help tackle them so your child gets the restorative sleep their body needs.
You may be ready to get back to routine once the holidays are over but it doesn't seem like your toddler has got the message. Santa has come and gone, the festivities are behind you and suddenly you are left with an overtired, half-pint scrooge.
I remember when the twins where infants and my husband and I were in survival mode. Knowing that our 3.5 year old wouldn’t be letting us sleep in most mornings, getting our sleep throughout the night was critical to be able to function well enough to care for these three little ones, as well as care for us. But you have a baby (or babies in my case) and you are going to be up throughout the night. It’s going to happen, as it should, and sometimes as parents we make decisions throughout the night just to get that extra hour of sleep.
There’s a lot to love about the fall. Fresh air. Kids back in school. Cozy sweaters. Pumpkin spiced everything. Yet, as the leaves start crunching underfoot, you’ll find parents everywhere silently cursing this time of year. Why? Because of the dreaded time change.
With the school year now upon us, it’s time we're thinking about adjusting bedtimes. The relaxed summer schedules are fun – but getting to bed at a decent hour and getting a good night’s sleep is important for children.
While bedtime is normally my focus of conversation, when the time came for all three of my kids to be in school, the real stressor in my life wasn’t how I was going to make bedtime easy, but how I was going to make the mornings as simple as possible for all of us. My mission was to get them all out the door, fed, clothed, with backpacks in hands, with as little chaos as possible.
The American Academy of Pediatric reported on Monday a study involving video of over 160 infants and the environment in which they slept. Through the videos researchers gained insight into how safe their sleep space was and monitored each baby for one night at the ages of 1, 3, and 6 months.
Time goes by so fast, and before you know it, your little one is headed off to Kindergarten. This is a big transition for both child and parent. While it’s an exciting time, there is the stress of adjustment, and it can take time for your child to adjust to their new routine and full-day school. Being a well-rested family can help make this transition easier, but that can be hard to accomplish when you are suddenly cutting naps on your daily napper.
It can be tough to fall asleep with the day’s worries on your mind. The same can be said for our children. Perhaps it was a disagreement they had with a friend that day, or a subject at school they are struggling with. Maybe their upcoming hockey tournament is keeping them up at night, or they are experiencing a social dilemma that they are unsure of how to work through.
Shortly after The American Academy of Sleep Medicine released new guidelines on how much sleep your child should be getting, for the first time the 2016 ParticipACTION Report Card on Physical Activity for Children and Youth includes sleep recommendations in their 24-hour health guidelines. The correlation between sleep and physical activity is clear.
A new study led by Michael Gradisar from Flinders University in Australia states that sleep training methods graduated extinction and bedtime fading can provide improved sleep with infants, with no adverse stress responses or long-term effects on parent-child attachment or child emotions and behavior.
Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) is the #1 cause of death for healthy infants under the age of one in Canada. The American Academy of Pediatrics and the Canadian Paediatric Society recommend practicing the ABCs of Safe Sleep to help reduce the risk of SIDS.
Babies should sleep Alone, on their Backs, and in a Crib.
