Sleep
Daytime Naps in Infants Under Six Months: How Many and How Long
Daytime nap patterns in the first six months are among the most variable and frustrating aspects of early parenthood. The baby who naps for two hours...
2 min read
Articles on Baby Health and Development
Expert guides, tips, and insights to help you and your family live healthier lives. From preventative care to wellness strategies, find everything you need to make informed health decisions.
Sleep
How Sleep Affects Memory in Children
The relationship between sleep and memory is one of the best-established findings in cognitive neuroscience — and it extends to infants and toddlers i...
2 min read
Sleep
Why Sleep Matters More Than the "Perfect Schedule"
Schedule rigidity is a source of significant parental anxiety in the early years. Parents count minutes from wake time to nap, track wake windows to t...
2 min read
Sleep
Lighting in the Child's Sleep Environment
Of all the environmental factors that influence infant and child sleep, light is the most powerful. It is the primary external input to the circadian...
2 min read
Sleep
Why "The Later the Bedtime, the Worse the Sleep"
"If I keep him up later, he'll sleep in longer." This is perhaps the most common sleep strategy parents try — and the one most reliably contradicted b...
2 min read
Sleep
How to Maintain Sleep Away from Home
Sleep away from home is a scenario most families face regularly — visits to grandparents, family holidays, weekend trips. A child who sleeps well at h...
2 min read
Sleep
Late Bedtimes and Their Impact on Sleep
Many parents move bedtime later hoping for a later morning wake — only to find the child still wakes at the same time, now with less overnight sleep....
2 min read
Sleep
Sleep in Prams, Strollers, and Baby Carriers: Safety and Sleep Quality
Pram naps are a practical reality for most families with young babies. The motion of the pram or buggy sends many babies to sleep quickly and often pr...
4 min read
Sleep
How White Noise Works for Sleep
White noise is widely used but not always well understood. Understanding the mechanism helps parents use it more effectively and make better decisions...
2 min read
Sleep
How Illness Affects a Child's Sleep
Every parent knows that a sick child sleeps differently — sometimes more, sometimes less, and often in patterns that disrupt the family's usual sleep...
2 min read
Sleep
How Much Sleep Children Aged 2–3 Years Need
Sleep recommendations for toddlers are often stated as ranges, which can create confusion for parents trying to assess whether their child is getting...
2 min read
Sleep
How to Help a Child Relax Before Sleep
The transition from the aroused state of daytime activity to the state of low arousal needed for sleep onset is not automatic. It requires time and ac...
3 min read
Sleep
How to Gently Help a Newborn Learn the Difference Between Day and Night
Parents cannot teach a newborn to sleep longer at night by force of will or clever technique before the circadian rhythm is ready. But they can ensure...
2 min read
Sleep
Transition from Four to Three Daily Naps
Between 3 and 5 months, most babies move from taking four (or more) naps per day to taking three. This transition is driven by lengthening wake window...
2 min read
Sleep
The Four-Month Sleep Regression: Structural Sleep Changes
The four-month sleep regression is described by sleep specialists as distinct from other regressions because it is not a temporary disruption overlaid...
2 min read
Sleep
Common Mistakes When Establishing Evening Routines
A bedtime routine that is consistently and correctly implemented is one of the most powerful tools in infant and toddler sleep. But several common mis...
3 min read
Sleep
Dropping the Daytime Nap: Temporary Phase or Permanent Change
When a 2-year-old begins refusing their afternoon nap, parents face a genuine uncertainty: is this a temporary phase that will pass, or has the nap be...
2 min read
Sleep
Sleep During Developmental Growth Spurts
Growth spurts are a frequently cited explanation for changes in infant behaviour — and the explanation is sometimes accurate. Understanding what actua...
2 min read
Sleep
How to Dress a Child for Sleep by Season
Dressing a child appropriately for sleep is one of the most common sources of parent uncertainty, and the answers are highly dependent on the room tem...
3 min read
Sleep
Do Infants Need Blankets During Sleep
Loose blankets in the infant sleep space are one of the most commonly identified suffocation hazards — and one of the most commonly present. The safe,...
2 min read