How can my toddler learn to stay in his room at night? Toddlers love to test boundaries and can come in and out of their rooms asking for a drink, a story, to go to the bathroom, to tell you something, etc. We call these “curtain calls.” You can use a technique called the “bedtime pass.” [...]
Is my baby all of a sudden waking up several times a night because she feels the (my) coronavirus stress? First make sure your baby is otherwise well (no fever, change in feeding, decrease in wet diapers, etc.). If you are concerned, talk with your child’s health professional. Check their weight [...]
Will sleep help my child’s immune system fight coronavirus? Whilst we know that getting enough sleep can help everyone’s immune system, it’s not entirely clear how. Some studies suggest that lack of sleep reduces the amount of proteins and hormones that our body makes to help fight infection [...]
How do I get my child on a nap schedule? Some babies seem to fall into a sleep schedule without any problems while others struggle and tend to have very short sleeps during the day (that is, less than 1 hour per nap). We call these babies ‘cat nappers’. Around 15% of babies catnap and these [...]
What’s the best sleepwear for my baby? The most important thing in sleepwear is to avoid over heating your baby because over heating is associated with Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). As such, natural fibers such as cotton are often best for sleepwear. Babies should not wear any head [...]
When can my child sleep with a pillow? After the age of two, children can start to sleep with a pillow. Earlier than this places them at risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) and is not recommended. It is safer to introduce a pillow once your child is in a bed and to not use any pillows while [...]
How can I build good sleep habits for my baby? There are many ways to do this, particularly after 3 months of age when your baby’s crying should have settled down and your baby is becoming more alert and awake during the daytime. Start by establishing a feed-play-sleep pattern, that is feed your [...]
Is it safe to use herbs or medications to help my child sleep? There are many different types of herbs and medications that are supposed to help children get to sleep but few have any good rigorous scientific data to support these claims and some may cause harm. In general, avoid using herbs or [...]
Is it okay to give my toddler (12 months to 36 months) melatonin? We do not recommend giving melatonin to toddlers and there is little rigorous evidence that it helps children this young. Most toddlers who cannot get to sleep at the start of the night (the time when melatonin has the best effect), [...]
When is it safe to let my baby sleep on his tummy? We advise putting babies to sleep on their back in the first year of life because sleeping on their tummy has been associated with an increased risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). However, once babies start to roll, they often roll over by [...]