Understanding what "drowsy but awake" is

Learn about: Understanding what "drowsy but awake" is from Kim West, LCSW-C,...
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Understanding what "drowsy but awake" is

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A lot of families email me, write to me, call me and say, will you please explain drowsy but awake? You know, I tend to think it's this. And I usually find that parents are leaning more towards the drowsy side than the awake side. So now I say, think of it like this, your child is warm, fed, dry, loved, and is aware that they are being put it into their bed. So there's no tricking them, getting them almost there but not completely there, that they really are aware, and a little bit more than they briefly open their eyes and look at you and then go to sleep. That's not awake enough. Again, we're trying to teach them or help them learn the skill of putting themselves to sleep, which is a learned skill that we all have to learn and hopefully many of us as adults have learned. So again, if I could rename it, I would say it's more awake than drowsy.

Learn about: Understanding what "drowsy but awake" is from Kim West, LCSW-C,...

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Kim West, LCSW-C

Psychotherapist & Author, The Sleep Lady's Good Night, Sleep Tight

Kim West is a mother of two and a Licensed Certified Social Worker-Clinical (LCSW-C) who has been a practicing child and family social worker for more than 19 years. Known as The Sleep Lady by her clients, over the past 12 years she has helped thousands of tired parents all over the world learn to listen to their intuition, recognize their child’s important cues and behaviors, and gently create changes that promote and preserve his or her healthy sleep habits. 

West has appeared on the Dr. Phil, Today Show, NBC Nightly News, Good Morning America, TLC’s Bringing Home Baby  and CNN, and has been written about in a number of publications including The Wall Street Journal, Associated Press, Baby Talk,  Parenting, The Baltimore Sun, USA Today, The Telegraph, The Irish Independent and the Washington Post. West hosts the sleep section of The Newborn Channel, played in maternity wards in hospitals across the country. West is the author of The Sleep Lady's Good Night, Sleep Tight: Gentle Proven Solutions to Help Your Child Sleep Well and Wake Up Happy with Joanne Kenen. She is also the author of 52 Sleep Secrets for Babies and The Good Night, Sleep Tight Workbook.

Kim received her master’s degree in Clinical Social Work from Simmons College in Boston, Massachusetts. She lives with her family in Annapolis, Maryland.

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