Shannon Glenn is the owner and founder of Sleep Well Children Consulting and a Certified Pediatric Sleep Specialist. She is dedicated to helping parents assist their children and babies in developing healthy sleep habits. With a B.A. in Psychology, Shannon has worked extensively with children and their families for over 15 years in a variety of settings. She has been offering sleep solutions for over six years.
When should you hire a sleep consultant?
If you have a baby or young child who has had or is having sleeping difficulties, chances are good you have tried to find a way to help your child sleep better. Maybe you read a book, called a friend, talked to your doctor, or took it a step further and looked into hiring a certified child sleep consultant. I have talked to many tired parents who said that they have been thinking about calling me for quite some time but just hoped that things might get better on their own. Some have parents even thought that maybe it was too early or too late to contact me. I am often asked, when is the right time to make changes to a child’s sleeping habits?
My short answer, it’s never too early to start. My long answer is between the ages of 4 months and 14 months. Of course this is considering the baby was born full term and is in good health. When parents call me with babies these ages, I first commend them on their decision to help their child establish healthy sleep habits. At this age, children are able to learn their independent sleep skills rather quickly and without too much of a struggle. They are young enough that they haven’t had long to develop too many hard to break habits and they haven’t stepped into the world of the temperamental toddler. They are old enough that they are past the newborn phase and developmentally able to sustain longer stretches of sleep.
Not to worry for those of you reading this with children older than 14 months with sleeping difficulties. I work with this age group often. It is completely possible to help these toddlers develop independent sleeping skills. It is just a longer, slower process. I always tell parents of the testing toddler, their journey to independent sleep will be a long, distance race. If you have a baby younger than 4 months old, their ability to sleep for long periods of time is still maturing however, there are things you can do to help begin to develop healthy sleep habits. It is just a different process than with an older baby.
Some research states that children’s sleep will not get better on its own until children are around five or six years old. That is a very long time to have a sleep-deprived family. So if you have a little one at any age that isn’t sleeping well, don’t wait to see if his or her sleep will get better. There is help. Contact me for a free 15 minute evaluation. You can reach me at shannon@sleepwellchildren.com or call me at 208-994-9429. I have several different programs to fit your family’s specific needs.
Every family deserves to be happy, healthy, and well rested.
Why didn’t we try this sooner?! As we speak he is sound asleep in his crib – and has been since 7:15 pm.
Karianne Wanggaard
Sleep Well Sleep Specialists
Don't go through another night of bad sleep.
Contact us to schedule your FREE 15-minute sleep evaluation!
Working with Shannon, I went from 2-3 wake ups every night to 1 or 0. She aligned the plan with my preferred sleep cycle. She was always coaching, never judging. Shannon was great, I have referred MANY people to her! That's the best testament to her work that I can give.
Laura