When I was growing up, I thought my dad was a freak. He wore strange clothes, said weird things, and listened to horrible music. In fact, he used to sit on the living room floor wearing giant headphones listening to his vinyls.
Every now and then he’d unplug the headphones and let his music fill the house (I didn’t like these moments): Elton John, Simon & Garfunkle, and Cat Stevens.
It was two years post Divorce after an 18 year marriage, when I received the emotional call from my ex husband telling me his father suffered a massive heart attack and was on life support. I just saw my ex father in law one week prior when the kids and I went to Florida to see my family. I always took the kids to visit their “other” set of Grandparents as well, even post Divorce, as this was the right thing to do for my kids.
Are you tired? Do you feel like your baby is always crying? Join us on Thursday, April 16th at 12:30pm PT for our #KITHangout dedicated to helping you get your baby to sleep. Join the discussion for a live Q&A with some of the top sleep experts in the country! Click here to RSVP and ask your questions.
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Does your preschooler reject the idea of taking a nap? Are you wondering if naptime is a thing of the past? Energetic children don’t understand the physical benefits of sleep; they see naps as an unwanted interruption in their day. If kids were given the choice they’d never sleep – day or night – until they simply fell over! Leaving the decision to nap up to your child, then, is like allowing her to choose between vegetables or cookies for dinner.
Yes, you read that right. I have spent 18 years ignoring my kids.
It may not always seem this way, but our kids are built to sleep. Good sleep is natural—it’s hard wired in our little ones’ brain stems, and unfolds organically over the first several months.
The real trick (and biggest predictor of good sleep over time) is following our kids’ unfolding sleep abilities so they can do what comes naturally to them: fall asleep independently and sleep well throughout the night and for naps.
From ages zero to five a child’s brain forms connections more rapidly than it ever will again, with 90% of our brain being fully developed by the age of five. Parents can do a lot to ensure their baby’s brain is receiving all the input it needs in order to begin developing those strong connections from birth. The best way for your child to learn is through play. The more you play, talk, interact with and stimulate your child through their senses, the quicker they develop their language, motor, executive functioning, and self-help skills.
