My philosophy about sleep is pretty simple. I strongly believe that healthy sleep habits make for healthy children. A well-rested child is curious, energetic, happy, playful, and eager to learn. I am more interested in improving your child’s sleep than preaching a particular sleep philosophy. When parents entrust me as their child’s “sleep guide,” they are placing a great deal of trust in me, and
I take this responsibility very seriously. While most books and programs dealing with child sleep problems take philosophical stands (based largely around the issue of “crying it out”), I believe that your child’s sleep is more important than my personal views on the subject. If your situation isn't working for you, I have options! My approach to improving your child’s sleep is pretty simple:
1. I’ll give you honest information about WHY sleep is so important for your child’s well-being. (This will give you all the motivation you need to make changes to your child’s sleep habits.)
2. I’ll lay out an easy-to-follow, step-by-step plan that lets you make some choices about what is the right approach for your child. (All children are different, and nobody knows your child better than you do. I encourage you to use your knowledge of your child to customize his or her sleep plan.)
3. Show you how to measure success. (No, you shouldn’t expect your child to sleep 12 uninterrupted hours on the first night — although it does happen! I’ll tell you what you should expect along the way…)
A little note about the “crying” question: Most people ask me about whether my program involves “crying it out,” I think it’s something that deserves to be addressed here. Crying is your child’s way of protesting change, and you can expect that making changes to their sleep habits will result in some protest. That’s why I’m always sure to tell parents that my program will most likely involve at least some amount of protest on the child’s part. Please understand that I will never ask you to leave your child to cry alone, nor will I ask you to ignore their cries. If you have any questions at all about my sleep philosophy, please don’t hesitate to ask!
