The Importance of Communication

Good communication is an essential tool when families look to improve their little one’s sleep. It is particularly important when dealing with toddlers and young children – communicating positively about sleep, and any changes you’ll be making to things like bedtime routines can really help with your little one and how well they sleep.

Positive Talking About Sleep

If you have a toddler or young child who isn’t sleeping well, it can be really easy to slip into negative ways of talking about sleep.

When one of my children was smaller and sleeping poorly, we fell into this trap. The more we talked about the fact that she wasn’t sleeping, the more this increased her negative associations around sleep, and she wasn’t sleeping well. 

So, if you have a little one with sleep challenges, make sure that any chat you have with them about sleep is framed positively. Ensure that you let them know that you know that they can sleep well and that you have every confidence in them to do it. This will help build their self-confidence and their belief that they can sleep well.

Communicate Any Changes

If you plan to make any changes to bedtime routines or ways of dealing with night wakings, make sure that you communicate these changes with your child well before implementing them. No one likes changes sprung on them by surprise, not least a determined toddler who wants to do things their way! 

Please communicate with your wee one about any changes a few days in advance to ensure they know what will happen and feel comfortable with the changes. If you’re able to get any input from your little one about these changes – steps in a bedtime routine, for example – this will all help your child feel confident and accept the changes.

Parents Should Communicate Too

Communication between parents around sleep issues is also essential when trying to make changes to sleep. If there are two parents involved with a little one’s sleep, it’s ideal that you’re both agree with any changes. So, if you and your partner are looking to address your wee one’s sleep challenges, make sure that you talk to each other first about how you would like to tackle it. It’s very confusing for a child if each parent deals with things differently, so to help them become more confident, being on the same page will make a difference. 

Best of luck to you! I’m here for individual support if you feel your family could benefit from it.