Getting your little ones to sleep on their own can be a daunting task – albeit an important one. “But Mommy, I NEED a drink of water!” became the recurring excuse  when my eldest daughter, Natasha, decided bedtime was an act of nightly negotiation rather than rest. After the need for water was fulfilled, of course … well, you know the rest. And so the nightly cycle went for a few weeks until she was finally able to get to sleep (and stay asleep!) on her own.

Aside from Mommy and Daddy’s peace of mind, getting your child to sleep on their own has important implications. As the fall school year looms, establishing a non-summer sleep routine is imperative. Here, Diana Gonzalez Blanco from Smooth Parenting offers up some great tips for helping your child become an “independent sleeper.”

-Tracey Frost Rensky, CEO and Co-founder, Citibabes

The image most parents have of sleep training is a baby crying until he succumbs to exhaustion and falls asleep. However, sleep training does not have to be like that.

The main goal of sleep training is to help our children become independent sleepers. An independent sleeper is that who falls asleep on his own and puts himself back to sleep when he wakes up.

I would also add that a ‘real’ independent sleeper is so ‘for life.’ This means that real independent sleeper will not need to be ‘retrained’ to sleep when he is moved to a toddler bed, starts preschool, is potty training, etc. In order to create ‘real independent sleepers,’ we need to help them establish the right, positive sleep associations.

Our children shouldn’t associate sleep with feelings of abandonment, fear, desperation, anxiety, punishment, excitement, or stimulation. Sleep should be associated with feelings of tranquility, relaxation, love, trust, restfulness, empowerment and peace. Here are some simple tips to help our children create those positive associations:

• Establish and maintain a soothing and calming bedtime routine.
• Use bedtime for bonding.
• Help your child feel safe, secure and comforted in his crib/bed.
• Make your child’s room a soothing and calming place: dark, quiet, organized and safe.
• Avoid active playing, television, videogames and other exciting activities before bedtime. Do not use the crib/bed for time-outs or disciplining.

Children model our behavior, so make sure you get a good night’s sleep!

By Diana Gonzalez Blanco, Smooth Parenting

Subscribe to CitiScoop by August 20th for your chance to win a complimentary Smooth Parenting sleep seminar class (held at Citibabes on August 25th at 6:30pm) courtesy of MomPrep! Sleep challenges are without a doubt the number one topic of conversation among parents! MomPrep & Smooth Parenting will help answer all of your sleep questions & guide you in teaching your baby how to sleep… after all, sleep is a learned skill!  You will leave with the tools you need to achieve your sleep goals! For more information, please visit Smooth Parenting and MomPrep.