Feeds and cuddles help toddlers sleep

Dr Pamela Douglas4th of Oct 202323rd of May 2024

two mothers feeding and cuddling their children

This page is part of a collection of short articles called Brief & simple, which together make up a quick summary of The Possums Sleep Program in plain language. For comprehensive information and support, please go to The essentials section of The Possums Sleep Program, and begin to work your way through the program's online text and videos.

Going to sleep with a feed and a cuddle is normal way for human toddlers to go to sleep. It is much easier than trying to leave a toddler's room while they are still awake!

Going to sleep with a feed and cuddle doesn't cause bad habits. Rather, going to sleep with a cuddle and feed in the first years of life sets up good habits of feeling loved and safe at sleep time.

Acknowledgements

I'm grateful to Professor Sophie Havighurst, Ros June, and Caroline Ma at Mindful, The University of Melbourne, for their feedback on the articles in the Brief & simple section of The Possums Sleep Program. They helped me keep the language plain and the concepts as accessible as possible. For comprehensive information and support, please go to The essentials section of The Possums Sleep Program, and begin to work your way through the program's online text and videos.

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Key steps to help with toddlers' sleep

toddler playing in living room with books

This page is part of a collection of short articles called Brief & simple, which together make up a quick summary of The Possums Sleep Program in plain language. For comprehensive information and support, please go to The essentials section of The Possums Sleep Program, and begin to work your way through the program's online text and videos.

Here's an overview of useful things to try that can help with your toddler's sleep. Research studies into The Possums Sleep Program have shown that these strategies are very helpful for many parents.

If your toddler is waking a lot at night, reset your toddler's body clock with a regular get up time.
Try gradually making your toddler's bedtime later at night, closer to your own.
Day-time naps might only be a few moments long, and that is...

Feeds and cuddles help toddlers sleep

Acknowledgements

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