How to talk to your child through the "bedtime battle" - and win...featuring Dr. Natasha Burgert

Special Guest: Dr. Natasha Burgert

This podcast provides:

The definition of normal sleep behaviors for toddlers/preschools/school aged kids
The 5 most common sleep problems
Action steps to fix each of the 5 most common sleep problems and warning signs that it’s time to see the doctor.
Tips to prevent many sleep problems in childhood.
What to say to your child when s/he keeps getting out of bed.
What you need to know about night terrors, sleep-talking and sleep-walking.
Some of the biggest mistakes parents make that make the bedtime battle worse.

Different aged kids have different needs in terms of “sleep architecture.”
Some bedtime problems are behavioral while others are medical—sometimes the latter are overlooked.
Sometimes the best-intentioned parents get in their own way when trying to best cope with the bedtime battle.
The bedtime ritual must be made a consistent habit.
Establishing a healthy sleep habit can take a long time.
- Have you tried long enough?
- Have you worked through the extinction burst?
- Have you been consistent across caregivers?
Bedtime does not start when the lights go out!
Provide the boundaries while also giving kids some sense of control over sleep.
There are MANY tips and tools we can use to help win the bedtime battle—and they are provided here in this podcast episode (i.e. 100 walks, immediate rewards, pass tool, excuse me drill, 30-minute wake, etc.)!

“About 40% of your childhood, you are asleep. That’s how important it is for kids to get these hours!” ~Dr. Natasha
“Everything in our bodies relaxes when we sleep, that includes our insides too! We focus on our eyes and our brain and our body relaxing but remember our guts do too…so if we go to bed on a really full tummy, we’re not going to feel well.” ~Dr. Natasha
“Our kids are unique individuals and they may not be on the same work clock or time clock that we are.” ~Dr. Natasha
“Sleep is a discipline. Sleep is a habit…it is the hard work of parenting. So if you’ve tried everything have you tried long enough?” ~Dr. Natasha
“Bedtime does not start at bedtime. You can’t just start thinking about bedtime when it’s time to turn the lights out.” ~Dr. Natasha