Seven Common Mistakes to Avoid

1. Putting baby to bed too late

When babies and toddlers are over tired, they have a hard time falling and remaining asleep. They also tend to wake up earlier than if you had put them to bed on time.
It is important to establish a bedtime routine and respect it every night.

2. Not allowing baby to fall asleep alone

Maybe your child is just having a bad dream and they will quickly go back to sleep. Be patient and do not rush to pick them up, or stay in the room until baby falls asleep again. The more you do this, the more they won’t go back to sleep without you.

3. Putting a sleeping baby in their crib

Putting a baby to bed after they have fallen asleep should be avoided at all costs. It’s confusing for baby to wake up in their cradle, when the last thing they remember is being snuggled up to you. When baby partially wakes up, sometimes after 15-20 minutes after being put down in their crib, they will realize that they are no longer snug in your arms and will cry out for you. You must put baby to bed either awake or drowsy so that they can develop the skills they need to fall asleep alone.

4. Forgetting the bedtime ritual

With a very young baby, an ideal bedtime routine consists of a bath, a cuddle and a story (or whatever suits you best). When your baby grows, you might feel they are too old for a routine, or that you no longer want to repeat it night after night. However, is important to continue to offer pleasing, quiet activities before bedtime. They prepare baby for a sound sleep.

5. Taking baby in your bed

Co-sleeping is both a bad habit and dangerous. Many sudden infant deaths are caused by this practice (unless it is done in accordance with basic safety rules).

6. Always offering a pacifier

You can, of course, give baby a pacifier before falling asleep, but giving it all the time to prevent tears at night is not necessarily a good idea. A baby who is used to a pacifier risks experiencing real difficulty falling back to sleep when they lose it. Each time the pacifier is lost is a reason for baby to wake up to look for it.

7. Inducing sleep with syrups or pills

There are no medicines adapted to help baby to fall asleep. Giving baby sleeping pills may seriously jeopardize brain development so is strongly discouraged.