Philosophy

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The Sleep Sense™ method was created out of the strong belief that healthy sleep habits make for healthy children. A well-rested child is curious, energetic, happy, playful and eager to learn.

When parents ask for help with their child’s sleep problems they are placing a great deal of trust in me and I want you to know that I take this responsibility very seriously.

The Sleep Sense™ method places so much emphasis on accommodating different parenting styles, and the bottom line is that you, as a parent, need to be comfortable with your new sleep plan in order for it to work for your child.

My approach to improving your child’s sleep is pretty simple:

  • 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.)
  • 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.)
  • I’ll 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…

WILL MY BABY CRY?

Since people always ask whether my method involves “crying it out”, I think it is something we should talk about 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 will always tell parents that my program will most likely involve some amount of protest on the child’s part.

However, you can rest-assured that I will never ask you to leave your child to cry alone, nor will I ask you to ignore their cries. The reason that the Sleep Sense™ method is so effective is that it lets you develop a plan that you feel comfortable with, based on what you know about your child.