Sleep Culprits- What to do about them?

When it comes to sleeping-children are easy targets for sleep culprits! I don't think parents realize how children pick up on the little things in life. Stop and think about some triggers that cause distress in your child's life.  Are there parental stresses, separations, upsetting events, major life changes, and a lack of sleep?  There are also common triggers for excitement that can cause sleep disruptions too.  Over stimulation, over scheduling, anticipation, growth spurts, or competition and pressure to perform are events that can cause tension that does not allow restorative sleep.  I think we all strive to lead a balanced life, but are we really?

In today's world it's really, really hard to even pretend like we might be leading  a balanced life.  We are over scheduled, over worked, and we put too much pressure on ourselves to do it all. 

One of the most valuable lessons I've learned as a mom is to keep it simple.  Go with the flow and follow my children's lead.  If I push too hard, they will push back even harder.  So I have to stop and think- what do my kids need right now? 

It's a lot of love, patience, guidance, opportunities to learn and grow from their mistakes, and just PLAY!  It can make some of the sleep culprits disappear!

How much sleep does my child REALLY need?

As a first time mom with Connor, I was sorely mistaken.  I had no idea that a baby’s bedtime was 6:30-7pm.  I found that out 2 years later.  I went with what the Dr. said- he had colic.  Looking back at our experience, I call it self induced colic since we chose to keep him up and let him miss his sleep window.   I had no idea.  He slept like a champ at daycare because he was SO sleep deprived at home in the evenings.   Connor didn’t get the right amount of sleep nor the quality sleep he really needed as a baby.   When I first found out how many hours of sleep a child really needs, I realized how much I didn’t know as a parent. 

So how do I get my baby to sleep?

You are probably aware that there are so many baby sleep books and programs out there. Some of the big names you know are Ferber, Mindell, West, Sears, Wiessbluth, just to name a few.  Although all of them have some really great tips and ideas about children and sleeping, they have very different philosophies and approaches to get to that good quaility sleep.  The one thing they all have in common is that they recommend you pick a plan and stick with it.  Read more in the NY Times artcle to see what I mean!

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/12/health/12sleep.html