Bedtime resistance is common in the toddler and preschooler years and what was once an easy bedtime can often stretch out to hours. Similarly night waking may resurface (or not improve as expected). There are many reasons for disturbed bedtimes and waking, however the bedtime routine and what happens immediately before it is key in my opinion.
Author Archives: SarahOckwell-Smith
How to Get a Baby to Take a Lovey or Comfort Object
The best thing a mother can do is to allow her baby to snuggle and feed as often as they need. Often though this is not possible. Returning to work or even just needing a couple of hours ‘me time’ necessitate that babies sometimes need other things that comfort them too. When it comes to sleep, if the baby has an object which they strongly associate with their mother they may transition between sleep cycles independently, feeling as if they have a piece of their mum/mom with them.
What to Do When You Feel Like Sleep Training Your Baby
I know too well how tempting it is to follow the magic sleep plan your friend with the perfect sleeping baby has followed. I know what it feels like to second, third and fourth guess your choices. Your parenting style is meant to make your baby MORE confident, but she’s only becoming clingier. What did you do wrong to create such a needy and anxious little boy? The answer is – absolutely nothing. NOTHING you have done has created a ‘bad sleeper’.
How to Stop Rocking Your Baby to Sleep
Babies need to feel safe and secure and they need our help to calm them to a level where it is easy to fall asleep. The close contact and movement of rocking meets all of these needs. In time all babies will grow out of the need for rocking, the question is whether they outgrow this need before they become too big and heavy for the parent to rock.
Why Your Child Needs Boundaries – and How to Set & Enforce Them
Boundaries play a crucial role in Gentle Parenting, in fact, so much so they really do form one of its cornerstones. I think the difficulty in understanding, comes from those who don’t really ‘get’ this style of parenting and also from those who practice it, but are a bit too scared to set and particularly enforce boundaries.
When Good-Eater Babies Become Picky-Eater Toddlers.
I felt like a good mum. I felt like I had this eating thing sorted. I didn’t understand why so many parents complained about their child’s eating. In fact, I believed that they had brought the problems upon themselves, by not offering their child a good range of different tastes and textures and instead pandering to their children. Oh, how wrong I was.
Choosing Childcare: How to Choose a Setting In-Line With Your Parenting Beliefs
Preparing your list of questions in advance is vital. Write them down and take them with you to the meeting. If you run out of time to ask them all, ask the provider if you can send the rest over to them via email. Don’t feel embarrassed if your list is long, you are entrusting your most precious ‘possession’ in this person’s care!
Whining Woes – Why Children Whine & How to Stop it.
Why Do Children Whine?
Children whine for many different reasons; however, there are some that are fairly universal. Let’s take a look at some of the most common reasons for whining and how to reduce them, using a mindful and gentle approach to discipline.
Why Baby Schedules Suck – But Bedtime Routines Rule!
In writing my The Gentle Eating Book it became apparent to me that every piece of research I came across, supported the idea of responsive feeding in infancy. In short, this means that for the best outcomes (by that I mean weight gain, health, future eating habits, risk of obesity and so on) for babies, they need to be fed (and for babies eating and thirst may be different entirely – but both require milk) when THEY need to be fed. The healthiest thing a parent can do is watch for their cues and follow them.
Picky or Fussy Eater? Parents it’s NOT Your Fault!
The most powerful thing I learned about childhood eating as a parent, was that picky eating is normal. By normal, I mean there are genuine physiological reasons why it exists and these reasons are often important in keeping the child safe. The relief I felt when I understood that the very behaviour I thought was hurting my son was actually keeping him safe was immense.
Sarah Ockwell-Smith 