Sleep training in the time of social distancing

Without a doubt, this is a very stressful time in everyone’s lives.  This is an experience that none of us has had before and we are all trying to figure out how to adapt and function while keeping our social distance, sheltering in place or even quarantined.  If you have small children, this is an even more stressful experience.  They may not understand why you can’t go out and do your regular activities or have play dates with friends.  Or they might just be plain STIR CRAZY!  I know I am!  On top of all of this, if your children aren’t sleeping well, all of this stress is made exponentially harder.  While the world may feel like an uncertain place, this is actually an excellent time for sleep training.  Here are all the reasons why:

Sleep training often requires setting aside time when you aren’t doing much else

With much work travel being halted, two parent families often now have both parents available to support one another and implement a plan to improve your children’s sleep.  Also, travel plans are being discouraged in order to keep people safe so you won’t be worried that your new sleep habits will be thrown off by an upcoming trip. Don’t worry, once your child has solid sleep skills, you can “take it on the road” once it is safe to travel again.

Older children’s school drop off and pick up schedules on hold

One of the big challenges for sleep training the younger children in a family is that the younger child/children’s sleep is often interrupted by the need to wake them from naps in order to pick up or drop off their older siblings either from school or other various activities.  With schools out all over and activities on hold, all of the reasons why you might have had to wake younger siblings and disrupt nap schedules are now no longer an issue.  Yes, eventually things will go back to their usual crazy circumstances with crazy schedules, but by then, your youngest will have well established sleep skills that can be adjusted for your regular schedule.  This will give your child a good place to start from that can then be modified. 

Creating predictability for yourself and your child helps everyone feel healthier and more balanced

Most importantly, everyone getting good sleep will help you feel balanced in this time of craziness.  Not only that, but getting a great night of sleep boosts your immune system and helps you fight off illness, which is particularly important right now.  During these long days at home, wouldn’t it be nice to know that your child will predictably nap, go to bed at a reasonable bedtime, and not wake up in the middle of the night?  This is all possible. Join me for a virtual sleep workshop on Saturday, April 4th at 10am to learn how to help your whole family start sleeping better or contact me to schedule your free initial consultation.