The Sleep Nanny Podcast

Your child doesn’t seem to need that much sleep during the day, and they sleep brilliantly at night so the lack of day time sleep is not impacting their night […]

So, what do you do when your child is ready to drop down to 1 nap a day but they’re having early rising difficulties? They are waking up too early […]

In the run up Christmas children do get more excited, there’s more and more going on around them as well as the increased intake of sugary foods. Maybe you are […]

Bed sharing has been found to exacerbate sleep problems in children in addition to causing distress and marital/relationship problems among parents. So, if your sharing a bed with your child […]

What can you do when you have tried all combinations of earlier to bed, later to bed, more sleep in the day, less sleep in the day and still, your […]

Babies are so used to the comfort, warmth, compact space and white noise sounds of being inside mummy’s tummy, it is no wonder they are not happy about being placed […]

Nap training is hard work. Unless your baby is falling asleep by motion or being rocked or fed to sleep, the chances are, he isn’t too keen on being placed down for a sleep awake during the day. This can lead to nap time battles, over tired children and often poor night sleep as a result. Many parents use the pushchair or a trip out in the car as a means to get a hassle free nap from their little...

Temperament plays a big part in deciding the best approach to improving your little one’s sleep. What works for some personalities and temperaments does not work for others, even in the same family with the same parenting and routine. An easy going temperament will be quite accepting of the routine you set up or will adapt without too much fuss. They are often quite content babies and are flexible...

It often surprises parents to learn just how much sleep their little one really needs. Toddlers and preschoolers will have us believe they are fine on far less sleep than they actually would benefit from. They don’t ‘want’ it but they do ‘need’ it. Did you know that the average age to completely stop needing a nap is actually around age three and a half! Some are ready at three years and some will...

The idea of ‘gating the doorway’ might seem cruel or like you are caging your child in. Odd that we feel this way really considering we are quite happy to put them in a cot or crib. Why is it different? There is a time and a reason for gating the door so it is important to make sure it is the right move for your child. It can be necessary for your child’s safety or to recreate the sense of securit...

Night wakings are normal and some of us experience challenges with these but what about when a child is awake for 2-3 hours in the night? Sometimes a child will sleep pretty well but have a prolonged period of wakefulness in the night and perhaps be quite happy and content during this time as well – So what is that about? There can be a number of reasons for the variety of night wakings you might...

Taking a look at sleep training perspectives, it is widely assumed that you either a) accept your fate as a sleepless human being, co-sleep or sleep with your baby on you and ride out the years that will be remembered as a blur. Or, b) let your little one cry until they give in and fall asleep but grit your teeth through the guilt (or not if it doesn’t bother you). However, it is not necessary to...

It is a common assumption that a breastfed baby will be likely to wake more in the night. On two separate occasions recently, parents have come to me for advice having been told they need to stop breast feeding if they want to see better sleep from their baby. I find this so disappointing because it simply is not true. To breast feed or not is a completely personal choice and I fully support eithe...

Travelling to a new time zone can cause parents some concern as to how this will affect their little one’s sleep. Whether it’s just one hour or half a day, […]

Two essential ingredients if you are going to make progress with your little one’s sleeping ability. Once you make the decision that your family is not getting the sleep you all need and that your little one could be sleeping a lot better than he is, it is time to take action and do something about it, but what? You might read books and articles, comments in forums and well-meaning advice from fri...

This is a huge move to make whether we are talking about a 6 month old baby, an 18 month old or a two and a half year old. I have helped families with all these age categories and a few key principles apply when taking this move on… * If the child has been co-sleeping with you for along time, we cannot expect him to switch straight to sleeping alone -It needs to be gradual. * Move at the child’s p...

This is quite a common challenge and can go way beyond the first year! If your little one still wakes throughout the night as much as every couple of hours but is past 6 months of age and developing nicely with no medical concerns, you could be getting much better sleep from your little one. How? I hear you cry. Well, we need to look at these areas: * How is your little one settling to sleep? * Ho...

This is The Sleep Nanny’s gentle style of sleep training. It is a way to get the best from your child’s sleep ability while maintaining a secure attachment. There is no need for a child to experience fear or disconnect in order to develop great sleep skills. We aim to get the best possible sleep for each child’s developmental readiness while ensuring they feel safe, loved and responded to. To find...

Screens and certain lights can actually prevent us from feeling sleepy. This episode explores the reasons why this happens and how to avoid screens causing sleep difficulties for your child. […]

Do you rush in to keep one child quiet in order to avoid another child waking up? This is a common challenge parents face and often results in long term […]

Looking after your health and fitness can be a challenge for anyone but it can be especially difficult when you are a busy parent with little time to spare and […]

What is intermittent reinforcement and how does it affect my child’s sleep? When we tell our child that something cannot happen but after a few tantrums or your child not giving up, we give in. This is intermittent reinforcement. This tells your child that the outcome is possible, it just takes a certain amount of persistence to get you to allow what he desires. This is a confusing and conflicting...

When is the best time to make this transition and introduce a big kids bed? We look at the reasons many people have to make this move and which reasons we should listen to. By making this transition too soon, you could open up a whole new can of worms and be in for many months of a toddler who doesn’t stay put in his bed. In this episode we talk about the importance of timing it right and approach...

When the time comes for daytime naps to go a number of feeling come up… You may be sad to no longer get a little ‘time off’ in the middle of the day. You might feel relieved that you don’t need to go through this battle each day anymore. You might feel concerned that your little one will become grumpy of fractious towards the end of the day without a nap. Whatever it means for you, this episode wi...

  When your baby or young child wakes every hour or two throughout the night, it is unlikely you are snatching much sleep at all for yourself and you NEED […]