Every child is different with how they adapt to a change like welcoming a new sibling. Some sail through it without appearing to be phased at all and others really show that they are struggling. Read more for how to help them adapt and not lose their strong sleep habits along the way.

This one is inspired by my fellow hockey families that travel abroad for the season! We make the move to Europe and back to North America twice each year for my husband’s work as a professional hockey player. I’ve done this trip with children from when they were babies up until 6 years of age and have attempted a couple approaches and feel like I’ve landed on the most successful way to manage sleep with time changes!

I’m going to separate this blog by direction, as that tends to have a factor in how we tackle sleep. I’ll also include some ideas for traveling shorter time zone changes and general travel tips at the end.

It’s normal and often inevitable to see some disruption to sleep over the holiday season. No matter how hard you’ve worked to establish a predictable routine with your child’s sleep, the holidays tend to bring disruption!

On the blog are some of the biggest disruptors towards sleep during the holidays and some ways to be prepared to handle them. A little planning can go a long way in helping your family stay rested over the holidays!

Having a dark room is an extremely important component of great sleep habits. Darkness helps our bodies produce melatonin, the hormone that leads to sleepiness. Also, babies & children are easily stimulated, so keeping their room as dark as possible avoids any visual distractions and disturbances to sleep. 

Even the slightest bit of light can lead to shorter naps, early morning wakeups, and interrupted sleep. I tell my clients that we are going for cave-like dark; ‘can’t even see my hand in front of my face’ dark!

Unfortunately, there are so many curtains out there marketed as blackout curtains, that simply don’t do the job! I’ve put together a list of some of the most recommended options for blackout solutions for your child’s room. They are organized by most economical to the largest investment. 

As a child Sleep Consultant (and as a mom), I am a BIG fan of toddler clocks or ‘ok-to-wake’ clocks. They are an amazing tool to help your child have clear expectations around sleep and helps them recognize that they have control of their decisions and actions. 

However, the toddler clock isn’t a magic solution. Often, I hear from parents that say they tried to use the toddler clock - their child that was waking up at 5:30 a.m. just won’t stay in bed until their clock turns green at 6:00 a.m. And, I typically say I’m not surprised. There is work that we as parents have to do around the toddler clock to help us be successful using it…

It’s officially summer!!! However, summer has a tendency to reak havoc upon our little one’s sleep if we aren’t conscientious of it. Here are 5 tips for enjoying summer without sacrificing your child’s sleep!