Posts Tagged "healthy"

When it comes to teaching healthy sleep habits, I talk a lot about building a puzzle – ensuring you’ve got all the elements you need and successfully piecing them together. The good news: in normally developing children, Mother Nature has provided the individual puzzle pieces that allow for healthy sleep. They’re all there! Nothing needs to be designed or recreated. In other words, your child – infant, toddler or otherwise – is fully...

This National Sleep Foundation info-graphic is one of my favorite resources when it comes to determining how much sleep a child needs at any given age. Instead of using this data to make you feel better about your child’s potential sleep loss, use it to set some goals for healthier habits! IF you’re in the mindset of wanting to maximize your child’s sleep potential, here are a couple of Sleep Pea tips for using this info-graphic and...

Until a few days ago you had a miracle baby. Your little one slept like a champ, logging dreamy daytime naps and nice, long stretches at night. That newborn phase wasn’t so bad! But what is this? We’re talking overnight change from a little angel to a fussy, unpredictable mess. Your once-amazing sleeper is suddenly wide awake for hours on end; a nap might last 20 minutes, if you’re lucky; you’re cluster-feeding your way through the...

Whether you’re just beginning your sleep-teaching journey, or have been at it for some time, you’ve likely been told to establish a bedtime routine.   It’s true! Children at all ages – even in early infancy – thrive on consistency. Consistency provides predictability and comfort. We love consistency, but strive for consistently healthy habits over consistently bad habits.   Even with a ‘routine,’ some parents – and children...

…well-a well-a well-a huh, tell me more, tell me more… OK, so we’re not exactly teenagers talking about summer love, but those particular lyrics remind me of a few recent conversations I’ve had with tired parents. Longer summer days punctuated with increased fussiness, irritability and an epic meltdown or two, followed by unusual nighttime wake-ups…sound familiar? From a healthy sleep perspective, it’s not at all surprising to see...