Baby Sleeping Tips for Parents Female: Most new parents work hard to prepare themselves for their baby. And many like David and Clara Mullins talk to friends who already have children about what to expect. Clara: Everybody gets advice but nobody is prepared when they have children for the reality of sleep deprivation. Female: The Mullins is the proud parents of two happy and healthy daughters Rebecca who is six and Catherine who was two and a half. Clara: We haven’t had a full night sleep since Rebecca was born truly. I assume if you have your children space really far apart then you could but we haven’t and we’re looking forward to that someday. Female: It doesn’t last forever but it certainly may seem like it does as new parents soon discover. Instilling their proper sleeping habits into their children quickly becomes a struggle that goes on for a much, much longer than many new parents are prepared for. David Mullins: The challenge that we have a lot is when we just want to get on the bed about 8:30 or 9:00. If they’ve had a really active day those ground rules are really easy to enforce but they’ve maybe have taken a late afternoon nap well that’s when the difficulty comes in. Female: Not only do a child sleeping patterns change dramatically from months to months over the first year of their life but also from year to year during the next six or seven years. George Cohen: One of the things that I think is so very important is that every child and every parent is different. And what works for one family is not necessary going to work for all families and what’s going to work for one child in the family may not work for the other child on the same family. Female: And of course, the one thing that will remain constant during the same time is that your children will never want to go to bed when you want them to. George Cohen: The most important thing is to avoid over-stimulation. That depends on the age or infant. So rough housing, spooky, television programs, spooky bedtime stories other kind of exciting things especially the negatively exciting are worth avoiding. And better to come to concentrate on sort of calm and easy going things just before bedtime. Female: In addition to creating a bedtime routine for your children experts also suggest the following. Be kind but also consistent when it comes to enforcing the routine and be firm. Remember, it’s only natural for younger children to want to stay up sometimes and they’ll become very persistent and creative in trying to get you to let them even if for only a little while. George Cohen: You really have to just be patient. You can read them stories. You may you want to sleep with them for a few minutes after you’ve read that final story or something just to kind of ensure to them that yes, it’s calming time, it’s time to go to bed, turn the lights out and if you’re lucky they’ll go to sleep.