I am a certified sleep consultant, but the qualification doesn’t mean much
It’s quite straightforward to become a certified sleep consultant. Many courses run over two days. You can become a sleep consultant over a weekend.
I am certified and have all the qualifications to practice. I too took a weekend-long course and acquired my certificate. Over those two days, we learned all about how to ‘train children to sleep’. We learned about different methods. All of which, sadly was some form of cry it out.
Pick up/ put down – Pick the baby up and put him down as soon as he stops crying.
Gradual retreat – Sit or stand further away from baby each night until you are out of the door.
Controlled crying – Leave time in between checking on the baby at timed intervals, adding time to the intervals each time you leave the room again. Go in and check on the baby and use a sleepy cue, for, e.g.: ‘its sleepy time now’.
Cry It Out – Leave the baby to cry until he falls asleep.
Luckily I wasn’t there to learn about how to help babies sleep; I had my own ideas about baby sleep. I was only there for the piece of paper and to gain the correct certification to practice, but there were others there taking every word to heart and eager to put what they were learning into practice.
Out of the 16 hours, we spent learning about sleep how to ‘train babies and children to sleep’:
0% of the time was spent on talking about how a little one’s room or sleep environment plays a significant part in their sleep.
0% of the time was spent talking about awake times, overstimulation, overtiredness, teething, illness, medical issues, developmental leaps, sleep regressions, separation anxiety and how they all significantly contribute to how a baby sleeps.
0% of the time was spent talking about what one can do to help improve a baby’s sleep, factors to consider when looking at their surroundings or gentle tips and tricks to help a baby sleep better.
0% of the time was spent talking about what could be waking a little one up and how to avoid these wakings by making the necessary changes and adjustments.
0% of the time was spent talking about what ‘normal or typical’ baby sleep is.
I admit I didn’t know half of what I know now, but I’ve kept on refining my technique and developing my knowledge over the last 13 years to finally end up with a method where there is NO CRYING. Not 2 minutes, not 20 seconds. And I am so proud of all the information I’ve gathered and of the method which I have developed, called ‘The Nurture Method’. It’s gentle, kind and most of all, it’s respectful to both baby and parents.
The learning never ends. I am still continuously learning. If there is one thing that I am sure of, it’s that children teach us more than we teach them.
To find out more about how I can help your little one sleep well, contact me here.
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