Recently the AAP released the results of a new study that indicated many parents are not following safe sleep guidelines. Of course, I have a few thoughts on this! Read the study HERE: My advice? Make the sleep guidelines more realistic! If parents aren't listening, it means they are desperate for sleep and the recommendations are falling short without the "village" we once had. Instead, tell parents HOW to co-sleep safely, if they need to. People across the globe do it! (You can read our
Sleep News
Should You Give Your Baby or Toddler Melatonin to Sleep?
The team members here at the Baby Sleep Site® work hard to stay on top of the latest news and trends related to sleep - particularly baby and toddler sleep. It's important to us that we're always using current research, recommendations, and best practices in our work with families. So when one of our sleep consultants passed a local news story about an emerging sleep trend along to the rest of us, we were eager to read it! Imagine our surprise, though, when we read the news headline: Parents
How Lack of Sleep Can Lead to Poorer Grades in School
Your baby's sleep problems, or your toddler's sleep issues, can cause lots of chaos and stress in your home. Chronic sleep deprivation can affect your little one's growth and development, and it can even affect your own health, as well as your relationship with your partner. And here is something else to keep in mind, as your child grows: sleep deprivation is not just a problem for babies and toddlers. It's a problem for big kids, too. Sleep disorders (like sleep apnea and Restless Leg
Nature or Nurture- Which is More Important to Help Your Baby Sleep?
“Mom….,” comes an exasperated sigh from my daughter, “the boys are awake again!” As a mother of fraternal twin boys (and a singleton daughter), I’ve heard this many times. Often though, I’d enter their bedroom, and find the same one of them up, crying, ready to get out of his crib, and the other asleep, just starting to rustle at the noise from the door. Sound familiar? What really does make up the difference in sleep patterns between children? Those of you with one child who has sleep
How to Get Your Baby Through Daylight Savings 2010
The end of Daylight Savings, when we turn our clocks back one hour, is probably one of the biggest worries for parents of young babies. I start getting questions about the time change up to a month ahead of time and understandably so. If your baby is already waking too early, just the thought of your baby waking an hour earlier is enough to make the calmest parent have a few butterflies. If you're like me who obsesses about sleep (how else could I write about this every week?), it wouldn't be
Your Baby’s Sleep and Daylight Savings 2009
The end of daylight savings is upon us when we will change our clocks back one hour. In Europe, the clocks change this weekend and for the United States (most of them), they will change on November 1st. For most people this means a baby, toddler, or child who wakes up a dreaded one hour earlier. This is especially painful when your child is already getting up at the crack of dawn! Most people don't even get why we even have to change the clocks (Note: Nowadays, it's to save energy). You have
When Sleep Deprivation Drives You
to the Unthinkable
It's no secret that sleep deprivation is hard. It's no secret that all we want to do is curl up on the couch and sleep. It's no secret that sleep deprivation makes us cranky and irritable. But, what about when it drives some parents or babysitters to the unthinkable? Even one news story about a parent hurting their baby due to sleep deprivation is one too many and today I read three! It is so hard to read the stories about a mom who is so sleep deprived that she is so frustrated at her baby
Sleep Problems and Depression, Even in Children
This isn't a post about just children and sleep, per se, but the ongoing emphasis that healthy sleep habits are important for all of us, adults and children. I was doing some reading and have found that new studies are finding that it was once thought that sleep problems were a symptom of depression, but they are now considering that sleep problems may precede depression. In other words, if you begin to have substantial sleep problems, The American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM) strongly
Sleep Problems, Bipolar Disorder and ADHD
Symptoms of Bipolar Disorder in children can now be traced back to infancy. And, bipolar children were found to be more difficult to console in infancy, exhibit a decreased need for sleep or difficulty going to sleep. In addition, recurring nightmares or night terrors have also been present in these children. On top of the sleep problems being a symptom, these children may seem more gifted in their "movement, language, and thought patterns" and creative in their writing, art, music, etc.