Sleep is vital to health and well being. But like any healthy habit, knowing and doing are often at odds with each other. Not only do we need to teach our kids to sleep, we need to stay rested ourselves. It’s a tall order but very doable according to our featured expert.
On today’s show we have Kim West, also known as The Sleep Lady. Kim’s a Licensed Clinical Social Worker who has been a practicing child and family therapist for more than 21 years. She is author of The Sleep Lady’s Good Night, Sleep Tight: Gentle Proven Solutions to Help Your Child Sleep Well and Wake Up Happy and The Good Night Sleep Tight Workbook. Her sleep method, The Sleep Lady Shuffle, is a gentle, and customizable program for families. Kim believes good sleep habits and gentle sleep coaching build a positive parent-child attachment and encourage a strong bond.
Kim walks us through important sleep principles and what parents can do at each stage of development to teach their child (and themselves) key sleep skills. We touch on key challenges-- night waking, nightmares, busy schedules -- and refreshing ways of approaching them. As Kim says, “no problem is unfixable.” She reminds us to stay open minded, and to be kinder and gentler with ourselves, as we work towards our goal of a well-rested family.