Sleep Tips for your family and child

• Maintain a consistent bed and awake time 5-7 days a week
• Encourage regular day naps if your child is under 3 years old or older if they still need a nap.
• Set your childs biological clock.
• Develop a consistent bedtime routine.
• Create a safe, warm and inviting sleep environment that is used consistently for day and night sleeps.
• Provide the right nutrition to improve sleep.
• Help your child to be healthy and fit.
• Teach your child how to relax to fall asleep.Commit to working with these eight ideas and you’ll likely see improvements in your child’s sleep, and yours too.

Visit us on http://www.nightnannies.com.au or call: 1300791663

What does Night Nannies do?
Night Nannies has a specialised Team of Nannies and Nurses in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane hand picked for their qualifications and specialised experiences working with babies and children.

We provide day and night sleep guidance to families who want support and guidance with their child’s sleeping patterns and routine. Night Nannies uses a holistic approach providing individually tailored routines or fine tuning the family’s current routine and teaching families gentle settling techniques that are appropriate for the age and development of the child. Our goal is to support our families and empower them with information, choice and techniques that they can use with realistic expectations.

Night Nannies does NOT use controlled crying because in the past it has been used inappropriately by people in the community when a baby is too young or the technique has not be utilised correctly. For example when a baby is left to cry it out for 20 minutes or more before falling asleep from sheer exhaustion. There has also been a paper published in 2002 by the Australian Association of Infant Mental Health that can be read here: http://www.earlychildhoodaustralia.org.au/pdf/papers/april2003_aamia.pdf discussing the reasons behind controlled crying and how it can actually be damaging if used incorrectly.

I often say to families who call to inquire, that if you are coping and happy with your situation then don’t change it. You do not need to change something just because of outside family and friends putting pressure or unrealistic expectations on you. Its only if you feel the need to make the change should you make any changes. As a parent I felt those pressures and listened to my friends and family, but decided to do what was best for my baby and family instead.

The good news is that there are other alternative methods that are realistic and gentle so that everyone can get a good night’s sleep.