From Sleepless Nights to Restful Routines: How to Help Your Alert Child Sleep Better

Struggling with sleepless nights and a spirited little one? This episode offers game-changing sleep strategies for 'livewire' kids! In today's episode, I am joined by two wonderful women, Kim West and Macall Gordon who are both Authors and Sleep Coaching Experts. They discuss their new book, Why Won't You Sleep?!, which explores a gentle, alternative approach to sleep training for children, especially those with "livewire" temperaments who are highly alert and emotionally intense. Kim and Macall emphasize the importance of recognizing a child's temperament in sleep training and advocating for a method that rejects the traditional "cry it out" approach, instead supporting parental involvement to help children learn self-soothing skills over time. Throughout this episode, Kim West, known as "The Sleep Lady," shares her journey into sleep coaching, driven by her desire to help parents navigate sleep challenges with a gentler approach. Kim explains her "Sleep Lady Shuffle," a coaching method focused on staying with children as they learn to self-soothe, which avoids leaving them alone to cry. She highlights her passion for creating a tailored, gentle approach that is supportive of both parents and children, aiming to help parents feel empowered rather than overwhelmed. Plus, Macall Gordon brings her expertise as a researcher and parent to the conversation, highlighting how temperament research can change the way parents understand their children's sleep issues. She discusses her struggle with her own child's sleep and the lack of options that didn't involve crying it out, which led her to co-develop the gentle approach with Kim. Her focus on research helps parents see that they’re not to blame for their child's sleep difficulties, offering them the reassurance and alternatives they need to handle sleepless nights effectively. Tune in and discover gentle, effective strategies to support your child’s sleep, helping you and your family find the rest you deserve. In This Episode, You Will Learn: Kim and Macall's personal journeys into sleep coaching (1:22) Challenges with traditional sleep training methods (8:07) Understanding temperament and its impact on sleep (14:12) Practical gentle sleep coaching techniques (17:58) The Role of consistency and parental support (20:29) Resources for parents and closing thoughts (37:07) Connect with Kim West: Website YouTube Instagram LinkedIn Get Kim’s books! Connect with Macall Gordon: Website YouTube Instagram LinkedIn Get the Why Won't You Sleep?! book! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.