5 Tips for Developmental Milestones and Sleep
Developmental milestones such as: rolling over, sitting, pulling to standing, and walking can impact sleep causing sleep regressions. This is because children are often so excited to explore their new skill that they play instead of sleeping, or they get stuck in a position that is challenging to sleep in. Here are some tips that can help make these transitions easier:
Give your child lots of time to practice. Place your child on the ground or other firm surface with plenty of room to move around uninhibited as often as possible. If older siblings make this challenging, try using a pack ‘n’ play or a gated area.
Allow your child to experience some frustration. It can be challenging to witness our child working through the discomfort of learning a new skill. By allowing the child space to move through challenges, they learn that they are capable of doing hard things.
If your child is truly stuck or becoming distressed, offer support by gently moving them to a more comfortable position.
Trust your child’s process. Every child develops in a slightly different way and at a different pace. Don’t compare! It can be tempting to try to move your child into a position before they are ready for it. In doing this, we can unintentionally stall their progress or inhibit subtle transitional movements that build strength, body awareness, and confidence.
If you have any concerns about your child’s development, speak to your doctor.
Practicing these tips during play, you can avoid or decrease the length of the sleep regressions due to developmental milestones. Healthy play leads to healthy sleep!
To learn more about specific methods to use for developmental milestones and get support with implementing them, check out my services on my website https://littlelanternsleep.com/sleep-services or contact me directly margitfoster@littlelantersleep.com.
