SarahOckwell-Smith

The Real Reasons Why You Cannot Teach Babies to Self Soothe to Sleep

The mainstay of almost all baby sleep training is the idea of teaching ‘self soothing’ or ‘self settling’. This approach believes that if babies are put down ‘drowsy but awake’ and parents do not rush in to feed or rock when they wake, that the baby will learn to settle back to sleep without parental input.

How to Stop Cosleeping and Bedsharing….

One of the questions I’m most commonly asked is “when do children grow out of the need to sleep with somebody?”, or in other words – when do children naturally outgrow bedsharing?

Aiming for 70/30: When ‘Good Enough Parenting’ is Enough

All parents make mistakes, all parents have days that they are not proud of. All parents make sacrifices and compromises. No parent is perfect. It is these mistakes that are the most important in terms of our growth as parents. Each time we don’t quite do our best we can learn and we can teach our children how to handle disappointm

Why we Need to be More Tolerant of Toddler Tantrums

All toddlers tantrum. Granted some more so than others, however tantrums and toddlers go hand in hand, you don’t get one without the other. The thing is, they’re not being naughty, manipulative, bad or disruptive (purposefully anyway), they’re just being toddlers. Actually they would probably rather they didn’t tantrum so much too.

What is Gentle Parenting – an Excerpt from The Gentle Parenting Book

Let’s get this out there right now. Gentle parenting isn’t permissive parenting. For those who are new to gentle parenting, perhaps practitioners of more mainstream methods, the most common criticism is relating to supposed permissiveness. They are wrong. Boundaries, limits and discipline play a crucial role in gentle parenting. If you do not discipline your child how can you be truly respectful of them?

When (and How) Should you Drop a Nap?

It may surprise you that actually nobody knows how long babies and toddlers should nap for and how many naps they should have per day. If you have followed recommendations from a book or chart it’s important you know that the figures they contain are completely most likely based on nothing more than personal opinion and random guesswork.

VLOG: Is Feeding Your Baby to Sleep a Bad Habit?

It seems that ‘sleep trainers’ everywhere are fixed upon scaring parents away from feeding to sleep and feeding in the night. It’s commonly considered a poor sleep association, a bad habit or problematic. In this video I discuss this issue and tell you the truth!

VLOG: The Importance of Bedtime Routines for Babies & Toddlers (and how to create a good one!)

I thought it was about time I ventured into the world of vlogging, so I’m pleased to bring you my very first video! This one is all about bedtime routines, why they’re so important, why you shouldn’t be scared of them, why being child led is not always great and how to create the mostContinue reading “VLOG: The Importance of Bedtime Routines for Babies & Toddlers (and how to create a good one!)”

Can Gentle Parenting and Mainstream Schooling Ever Mix?

Is it possible to parent gently and send your child to mainstream school? A question I’m often asked by parents. What should parents look for when choosing a school? How should they handle homework and behaviour policies that go against their beliefs? I’ve answered some of these questions in ‘The Gentle Parenting Book‘ and I’ve addressedContinue reading “Can Gentle Parenting and Mainstream Schooling Ever Mix?”

Toddlers all Sleep Through the Night – Don’t They?

Parents expect their small babies to wake at night frequently. Night feeds are accepted as the norm for at least the first three months (and beyond) by most sources. Something changes after six months though, we expect babies to start ‘sleeping through the night’. For each month past six months of age, that a babyContinue reading “Toddlers all Sleep Through the Night – Don’t They?”