How to get better sleep for you and your child: waking regularly in the night
This film is for parents and families of toddlers and children who are waking in the night and calling for attention. It includes practical information and professional insight from Clinical Psychologists and Health Visitors trained in the Solihull Approach.
Nayel (14 months) and James (3 years) regularly wake in the night for their parents, who kindly share their stories here.
All children are all different, we are all unique and have different needs when it comes to settling to sleep. What works for one child may not work for another so tuning into your child to determine what relaxes and calms them or perhaps what makes them fearful at night will help you to understand what will work best for them, responding to them and reassuring them.
The Solihull Approach is about recognising emotions in parents and children and supporting parents to tune into their child, who is growing and developing faster than at any other time in their lives.
The world of a small child is rapidly changing for them as they discover new things every day. They learn about what’s safe and unsafe from their parents, family and other trusted carers and while the way they express themselves is still very infantile they are learning about how to manage their emotions and pick up on emotional cues around them, tuning into any messages about whether it is safe and okay to be separate. Therefore if a parent is feeling overwhelmed, has worries about sleep themselves, they may find it more difficult to convey security to their child.
Sleep is important for our physical and mental wellbeing and we know that from birth, sleep is fundamental for healthy brain development. While sleep is a natural instinct, it’s also a skill we develop: learning how to wind down and how much sleep we need.
Sleep support resources created by psychologists and health visitors are now available at www.inourplace.co.uk/sleep to promote connected relationships between parents and infants to help children to learn and thrive as they grow.
Other useful films in this series include:
My toddler won't stay in their bed: • My toddler won’t stay ...
My baby isn't sleeping through the night: • My baby isn’t sleeping...
My child is having nightmares or night terrors: • Video
Breastfeeding and sleep: • Breastfeeding and sleep