The truth is that we all go into the parenting process a little bit naive and believe that we’ll be “immune” from these very common problems.  Before you know it, YOU are the parents who are up during the wee hours of the morning desperately “hushing” your baby and trying to remember what those parenting books said to do. As you watch the sun rise yet again, you may resign yourself to the fact that this is the way every parent feels, but it doesn’t have to be this way!

You can learn how to get baby to sleep through the night much faster than you might think.  There are different techniques that many parents talk about that may or may not work for your child.  First, many parents will report to you that you need to establish a bedtime routine.  What this means is that it is important to eat dinner at about the same time, play with your child, bathe your child, and then put them in bed awake and allow them to fall asleep on their own.

In theory this works, but depending on the age of your child it may not be at all easy to get this routine to stick, and your little one will likely not just drop off into slumber the first night, or even the first week.  Many parents give up on this idea because they simply do not have the patience or energy left to allow this method to work.

Other parents will tell you that the “cry it out” method is how to get baby to sleep through the night, but to many, this is not a very attractive idea.  The theory here is that the child will eventually learn that – no matter how much they cry – they are eventually going to have to fall asleep on their own. Eventually the child will no longer cry at all, they will simply drift off and rest through the night.

Again, this strategy can work, but many parents have strong feeling against listening to their child cry for long periods of time. There is also a lot of literature on the market that will make parents think twice about this technique, although people have been using it for ages.

If you are at your wits end and you need to learn how to get baby to sleep through the night once and for all, visit www.sleepsense.net for information about “The Sleep Sense Program.”  This system – created by a professional infant and child sleep consultant – is very easy to use and can teach parents the techniques they need to get their child to fall asleep on their own — and to stay asleep all night long!

Although this slumber-deprived state is quite common when a new baby comes home from the hospital, it should resolve itself within the first 3 to 6 months of your baby’s life.  Unfortunately some child sleep issues seem to go on much longer, leaving both parents and children on the brink of exhaustion!

Many parents seek the help of their pediatrician to solve the problems in their household.  Most doctors are fast to say that the newborn is just going through a phase and to let it work itself out.  Other parents leave the doctors office feeling guilty because the doctor has instructed them that they need to “set guidelines” and “create a routine” for their families.

Many parents end up feeling like the problems are all their fault – and sometimes they are – but guilt won’t solve the issues that are keeping everyone from getting the rest they need.  It’s not that doctors are wrong, but without instruction on HOW to change things, improvement is unlikely.

If you fell like you’ve been living with child sleep problems for long enough and you are ready to do something about it… congratulations!  You can start by taking a good look at what the problem is:  Does the youngster just refuse to go to bed at night?  Do they have a hard time falling asleep?  Does your baby or toddler continue to wake up to eat or drink in the middle of the night?  In many cases, children simply need to have a predictable routine before bed, a full belly, and a dark, quiet room in order to fall asleep easily – and stay asleep all night long.

One of the most popular online resources for parents to help their child sleep through the night is online at www.sleepsense.net.  This site contains a unique set of resources that can teach you how to solve the problem once and for all. The system described at this site is very easy to work with and can help infants begin to rest all through the night, can help parents wean their children off nighttime feedings, and can also teach parents how to get their children to take naps during the day.

If the toddler sleep problems in your home are as simple as nightmares, this is something that most kids will grow out of. Nightmares are the natural result of your toddler beginning to really explore their imagination. This is a problem that can resolve itself in a matter of weeks or months, though it is certainly not a fun time for anyone!

Other toddler sleep problems develop as a result of your child’s growth and their changing bodies.  The toddler period is a common age for allergies, and real issues can develop with regards to breathing, swallowing, and snoring. If you suspect that your toddler’s sleep challenges might be physiological in nature, you should make an appointment to see your family doctor.

While some children DO have a physiological reason that they do not sleep through the night, others simply refuse to stay in their own beds.  Many children never learn to rest on their own without the help of their parents, and – for many parents – it isn’t until the toddler years that they finally decide that their child needs a bed of their own!

Solving toddler sleep problems of this nature can be a real challenge, but there are definitely some time-tested strategies that have been proven to work. Mostly, they involve a strong will on the part of parents, as you’ll eventually have to insist that your toddler sleep in their own bed.

Many parents of toddlers have found success using “The Sleep Sense Program,” an online resource created by professional infant and child sleep consultant Dana Obleman. This resource can be found on the Internet at www.sleepsense.net, and contains a ton of useful information on sleep for children of all ages.

The problem with infant sleep issues is that there are not any “hard and fast” rules about when your child should be sleeping for three hours at time, six hours at time, and all the way through the night.  Even if you ask your pediatrician, he or she will likely give you a different response from the other pediatrician down the street.  Each child is an individual, and they all take a different course that eventually should lead to sleeping through the night.  Wanting to be fed, changed, and held are very normal reasons that newborn babies wake up at night. However, as your baby gets older, they should eventually be able to sleep through the night without needing anything from Mom or Dad.

Most babies should be able to sleep through the night somewhere between 3 and d 6 months of age. One of the best ways to get your child “sleeping through” is to develop a nighttime routine that will cue your baby into the fact that it is rest time.  Every night go about the same routine and, before long, your child will realize that it is time to be quiet and go to sleep.  Babies are very aware of their surroundings, so be sure that you follow the same routine every night.  If your child still won’t rest though the night, don’t worry – you’re not alone! In fact, infant sleep questions are some of the most common ones that family doctors hear from new parents!

If your doctor has assured you that there are not any infant sleep issues that you need to worry about, but your baby is still not sleeping at night, you might want to visit www.sleepsense.net and browse through some of the strategies there. Your child CAN learn to sleep all through the night, and take restful naps, too. The most important step to take is the first one – deciding to make the change!

So what – if anything – can tired parents do to start getting a good night’s sleep?

First, you need to determine if the baby sleep issue in your home is abnormal. While every child has different patterns and routines, it is reasonable to expect that your baby sleep through the night starting somewhere between 3 and 6 months of age, and fall asleep without much of a fuss.

The first thing that parents should do is ensure that the schedules and environments that they provide for their children are not adding to (or creating) the problem. Many children simply need the right set of circumstances to rest well on their own – and let their parents and siblings enjoy a restful night too! Babies especially thrive on predictable routines and calm environments, so take a look at a typical “day in the life” of your child, and see if you can identify things that might be detracting from a restful environment.

Many parents will talk to their family doctor or pediatrician about their child’s sleep problems. This is a good idea, as your doctor may have some suggestions for you that you haven’t tried yet. However, many parents complain that doctor’s don’t take the issue very seriously, telling parents to “tough it out” until their son or daughter “grows out of it.”

Dana Obleman, a professional sleep consultant and baby sleep expert, suggests on her www.sleepsense.net website that parents take a pro-active approach to teaching their children to sleep through the night. Obleman says, “A happy and rested household is within every family’s reach, and the steps that parents need to take to get there aren’t nearly as complicated as you might think.”

BC, Canada (IPRWire) Fri, Oct. 13th, 2006—Dana Obleman, founder of Sleep Sense Publishing Inc. (www.sleepsense.net), is happy to announce the launch of her do-it-yourself system that allows tired parents to teach their children how to become better sleepers. This program can be implemented starting right from birth, or at any point in the child’s first 3 years.

Parents with newborn babies can especially understand how a sleep disorder can disrupt their lives during the night and affect work productivity during the day.

Beth Quave, a mother who used the program to help her son, explains: “I had a 6 1/2 month old that was up 5 times a night. Now he slumbers peacefully 11-12 hours at night and takes two 1 1/2 hour naps each day. I tell all my friends with young children about the program and I even told our doctor about it. It is so nice to put our 10 month old in his crib and listen to him talk to his stuffed dog before he falls asleep. Within two weeks of starting the program it was working. At this same time, he started mastering his milestones as soon as he started sleeping. I now have a super energetic baby. Thank you so much for the program!”

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