Research-Based Parent Education and Support

Sleep

Establishing Healthy Sleep Patterns

Posted by mlkropp on Sep 11, 2013 in Sleep | 0 comments

Establishing Healthy Sleep Patterns

“I’m not tired!” “I don’t want to go to bed!” “Just one more show, please…” “It’s too early! “No one else in my class goes to bed this early!  They don’t even HAVE bedtimes!”   Sound familiar?  Kids put up such a fight when it comes to bedtimes, it might be tempting to simply throw in the towel and give up altogether.  All right then – just STAY up! Fighting over bedtime is exhausting and stressful...

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Sleep is Key to Decline in Learning Issues, Obesity and Behavioral Problems

Posted by mlkropp on Sep 10, 2013 in Sleep | 1 comment

Sleep is Key to Decline in Learning Issues, Obesity and Behavioral Problems

We all know that children need to sleep, and most of us might agree that the combination of children and sleep often results in stress for adults.  We think of the baby years as being a time of parental sleep deprivation and many of us may heave a sigh of relief after having passed through those baby years and finally having more consistent sleep patterns as children reach school age. What we adults may not be aware of is the fact that many of our children are currently sleep deprived.  What?...

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Sleep Consulting

Posted by mlkropp on Jan 17, 2012 in Sleep | 1 comment

Sleep Consulting

What happens when parents realize that their children have a sleep problem?   It’s not unusual to hear conversations about sleep take place on playgrounds as parents stand around and chat.  At some point,  through the fog of sleeplessness, it must become apparent that not all families face the same challenges. I recently spoke with the parents of a new student in my class.  As part of our “getting to know you” process the teachers ask the parents a few probing questions to...

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Help With Sleep Issues

Posted by mlkropp on Jan 16, 2012 in Sleep | 0 comments

Help With Sleep Issues

Last night my son had a very hard time falling asleep.  He claimed to not feel well and then cried because he was too hot, too cold, and he was afraid of recurring nightmares. I offered for him to move to the bottom bunk, and he quickly fell asleep and slept through the whole night. Children need consistency, routine and the sense of control over their lives which comes from a healthy set of boundaries.  The problem is that all children, and many adults, don’t understand this or believe...

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Sleep Training

Posted by mlkropp on Jul 3, 2011 in Child Rearing, Sleep | 0 comments

Children need sleep, and so do parent!  Babies start out in life needing to eat every two to three hours for biological reasons (their stomachs and digestive systems are so small they have to eat often).  By 8 months they have outgrown this need, but sometimes it seems to take a whole childhood to get rid of the habit! Parents, do yourselves (and your little ones) a favor and choose and implement some sort of sleep training before your child is a year old!  Make an informed decision on when to...

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