First, let’s begin by addressing four of the most coveted words in parenting – “sleeping through the night” – a term most parents long to understand, experience, and feel! Throughout our sleep time, we are constantly transitioning and cycling between light and deep sleep (known as REM and non-REM). During these transition periods, we experience partial arousals – when we wake up, turn over, rearrange our pillows, or go to the bathroom. Sleeping through the night actually refers to the ability to put oneself back to sleep while experiencing a partial arousal during a sleep transition. This ability is what we are actually trying to teach our children when we long for them to “sleep through the night”. When we review the quantity and quality of sleep in a child’s day, we must look at the duration and number of disturbances experienced throughout each sleep span. A ten hour night sleep with no disturbances is far more restorative than a 12 hour night sleep...

Research shows it takes the average person 15-20 minutes to fall asleep. What do YOU do during this time? Some parents read, take a both, meditate, or watch TV. Children, too, need to find something to help put themselves to sleep – playing with stuffed animals, sucking their thumb, looking at books, twirling their hair, rubbing their blanket, humming, rocking, or babbling. We need to give our children the opportunity to find what relaxes them and helps them fall asleep; sleep is a learned skill. When you put a sleeping child to bed, you are interfering with the development of their natural sleep triggers. Children need opportunity to experiment and find what out works for them. Remember with sleep, it is not what we do for our children, but what they learn to do for themselves. Learning to not jump in too quickly to rescue our children from frustration is difficult, but necessary. As with any taught lesson in childhood, from potty training to good manners, gentle guidance,...

Below are some general guidelines as to how many hours of sleep the AVERAGE child requires at various ages (taken from “Solve Your Child’s Sleep Problems” by Dr. Richard Ferber). Remember, every child is different- some need more or less sleep than others- but variations should not be huge.   Sleep Averages   AGE NIGHTIME SLEEP DAYTIME SLEEP TOTAL SLEEP 1 week 8 ½ 8 (4 naps) 16 ½ 1 month 8 ½ 7 (3 naps) 15 ½ 3 months 10 5 (3 naps) 15 6 months 11 3 ¼ (2) 14 ¼ 9 months 11 3 (2) 14 12 months 11 ¼ 2 ½ (2) 13 ¾ 18 months 11 ¼ 2 ¼ (1) 13 ½ 2 years 11 2 (1) 13 3 years 10 ½ 1 ½ (1) 12 4 years 11 ½ 11 ½ 5 years 11 11 6 years 10 ¾ 10 ¾ 7 years 10 ½ 10 ½ 8 years 10 ¼ 10 ¼ 9 years 10 10 10 years 9 ¾ 9 ¾ 11 years 9 ½ 9 ½ 12 years 9 ¼ 9 ¼ 13 years 9 ¼ 9 ¼ 14 years 9 9 15 years 8 ¾ 8 ¾ 16 years 8 ½ 8 ½ 17 years 8 ¼ 8 ¼ 18 years 8 ¼ 8 ¼ Remember, most children need...

Everyone knows that sleep is important (especially baby sleep). Adults need an average of seven to eight hours of sleep each night, minimum, in order to function normally. That means that when you get adequate sleep, you will be able think clearly, focus, and your mood will be elevated. Recently, there has been some new research studies that say some people are fully rested after only six hours (what they are calling the ‘core hours’). I am definitely NOT one of those people. I think what is really important is to focus on how you feel when you wake. Do you feel rested? Do you often wake without an alarm clock? The Importance of Sleep For the Whole Family Sadly, most adults get an average of only 6 hours of sleep each night. There are so many reasons that adults (and babies) need to get a full, restful night’s sleep. Here are six reasons that achieving those 8 hours are so important from Harvard Women’s Health: 1. Learning and memory: Sleep helps the brain commit new...

Every child will have a unique sleep schedule and ability. This is a challenging age to try to improve naps as things often get off track around 4 months of age and naps don’t develop consistently until around 6 months of age. It is usually easier for babies to learn sleep skills at bedtime and in the night before they can learn daytime sleep skills. Here are some steps to gently shape your babies naps to improve both the quality and quantity of his day sleep. The main goal for naps at this age is to prevent your baby from getting overtired. Babies who are awake for long periods of time have a tendency to get over-tired which can effect their mood and make it more difficult to fall asleep for the next sleep period as well as, cause fragmented sleep cycles resulting in shorter or restless naps. Step 1:  Create an ideal day sleep environment Some babies will have no issues napping while out of the house and on the go in the car seat, stroller, or carrier. Often younger...

By now, you and your baby may have settled into a rough schedule, with a regular, somewhat later, bedtime. Newborns often end up going to bed quite late, often when their parents go to bed (or when you are able to finally get them to sleep soundly).  In the early months, babies can thrive on a 24-hour schedule of feeding and sleeping and you may have found that a later bedtime was easier to manage. However, as your baby is getting older, you may notice more fussiness in the evening. Even though it may seem too challenging to attempt an earlier bedtime, especially since she is likely to wake up to eat within a few hours, an earlier bedtime is likely going to help your fussy baby at this age. Finding your babies natural bedtime Around 3 months, your baby’s day/night rhythms start to strengthen and you may notice that after being awake for about 12 hours, she is ready for night’s sleep. She will likely still need to feed 2-4 times in the night but you may notice longer...

Chapter 7: Cater to Picky Eaters Developmental Considerations Eat Your Vegetables and Other Mistakes Parents Make: Redefining How to Raise Healthy Eaters Natalie Digate Muth, MD, MPH, RD Infant Breastfeed. Introduce solids one food at a time. Expose your child to a wide variety of foods. Spend at least 10 to 15 minutes on meals. Name the foods your child is eating to help him develop language skills.   Toddler Expect neophobia (fear of trying new things, including foods). Continue to expose your child to a wide variety of foods. Avoid preparing separate meals. Keep mealtimes relaxing and enjoyable. Keep the TV off during meals.   Preschooler Remember the “rule of 15.” Involve your child in meal preparation. Require your child to sit at the table during mealtimes for at least 15 to 20 minutes, but don’t force him to eat. School Age Require assistance in meal preparation. Expose your child to a variety of foods. Explain reasons why you...

Excerpted from “Eat Your Vegetables and Other Mistakes Parents Make: Redefining How to Raise Healthy Eaters (Healthy Learning 2012)   Natalie Digate Muth, MD, MPH, RD   Parents share a wealth of concerns about their kids’ eating habits. The three biggest are not eating enough fruits and vegetables, picky eating, and eating too much junk food.1 In response to the distress and anxiety posed by these concerns, parents have historically responded with a variety of tactics aimed to coerce, bribe, convince, guilt, or otherwise induce compliance in unwilling little ones. Of course, parents are acting in the best interest of the child, hoping that one day, the child will agree that fruits and vegetables are healthy and should be consumed at every meal—and, ideally, the child would also be willing to taste from a variety of new and interesting foods. The problem is that many of these tactics backfire, the kids dig in, and the parents are left with an unending headache dealing with...