Weighted blankets – are not safe for babies and young children
Weighted blankets are also called ‘calming’ or ‘sensory’ blankets and are often marketed as a sleep aid for babies and young children. Advertisers claim weighted blankets assist the child to go to sleep because they boost a sense of security and help them to calm. However, there is no evidence or proof that any of these claims are accurate. In fact, weighted blankets can be very unsafe and tragically, there have been babies and children who have died when being covered by a weighted blanket during their sleep.
Fear of Strangers
All babies go through stages of being scared of strangers. This is a common experience and happens as a normal part of healthy development from around seven months onwards. Even for the most social of babies, some degree of anxiety around unfamiliar people is very normal.
Night weaning and phasing out night feeds
Babies are biologically adapted to need feeding around the clock – both day and night, to support their healthy growth and development. There does, however, come a magical point in time when babies are old enough and developmentally ready to stop needing to be fed overnight.
Tips for when your child is sleeping away from home
We’ve all heard that babies and young children are adaptable. But the truth is that many small people are not. Just like the adults in their lives, some respond more easily to changes in their daily routine, others are less flexible.
Whichever way your child is ‘hard wired’ to respond to change, there will be times when they’ll need a little more support. Sleep and settling is one aspect of care which needs to be flexible, depending on the day and where your child may be.
