Some little ones take to sleep training and find a good routine early in their development. Others take a little longer. Then we meet parents who have been trying to sleep train for years and have given up hope. These parents often worry that it is too late and their child will simply never have healthy sleep habits. That isn’t always the case! Sleep training isn’t just for newborns, it can happen at any point!
Sleep Training By Age
0-6 Months
These beginning months are when a foundation is being laid for healthy sleep habits. This is when a predictable eating and sleep schedule can start to take shape. It is important during this time to make sure that your baby’s sleep environment is conducive to sleep.
6-12 Months
We begin to focus more on helping your baby learn independent sleep skills during this time. The end goal with teaching independent sleep skills is that your baby can learn how to fall asleep without being held, rocked, nursed, or pacified to sleep. Keeping your baby on an age-appropriate feeding and sleep schedule will help your baby fall into a healthy sleep pattern.
1-3 Years
Toddlers require more attention to their environment, routines, and nap and bedtime schedules. This is when we want to start to minimize parental assistance in falling asleep. This can be reinforced with consequences and rewards to help establish boundaries and expectations.
Preschool and Older
We find it important to conduct a consultation to get a full understanding of your child’s needs at this age. It is important to address any underlying issues that your child might be experiencing that could be affecting their sleep. The child can communicate and be more engaged in the process of establishing their new routine than they could be able to earlier in their development. We focus on building your child’s “tool box” of ways to self-soothe, relax and the ability to accept an established routine.
Let Us Help
We are here to help you and your little one develop healthy sleep habits at any age. Creating predictable routines and expectations will set your family up for better quality of sleep for everyone.
