In the news I cam across this new campaign to curb SIDS in Baltimore. Some of the recommendations were ones I hadn't heard about yet. I thought it worth sharing:
Posted by Child Works at 03:47 PM | Comments (1)
The debate about co-sleeping in the United States is growing. Here at Child-Works we believe co-sleeping can be a wonderful situation in the early months as long as it is done safely. It is a tremendous benefit to a mother who is nursing every hour or two. It can also be an incredible bonding time. As with all decisions around your child it is family specific and what works best for you may look different than other families. We encourage parents to negotiate the best solutions for their particular family. The following is an article that outlines the pro and cons as well as some of the safety issues: http://www.rctimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060925/FEATURES01/609250306/1004/MTCN0303
Posted by Child Works at 09:27 AM | Comments (1639)
Babies become interested in books at various ages and in different ways. Some babies like to hold the book and "read" themselves, others want to focus on the pictures while others enjoy hearing every word read to them. A literacy group located in Pittsbourgh gathers specialists together to determine the 10 best books for babies and toddlers among hundreds of books. For a list of these books, please visit: http://www.scrippsnews.com/node/13045
Posted by Child Works at 10:15 AM | Comments (66)
Many of my clients have heard my philosophical approach to parenting and sleep training a child. I always refer to "attachment parenting" (as described by Dr. Sears) as child directed and "baby wise" (by Gary Ezzo) as parent directed. Child-Works aims to strike a balance between these two approaches where both the parents and child's needs are being met. NPR reported on a study recently published in the journal Pediatrics on these parenting styles, infant crying and infant sleep during the early weeks and again at 10 months of age. The results showed the babies with the "middle of the road" approach experienced little crying after the first six weeks and slept well after 12 weeks of age. To read the full report please visit:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5452458
As always, comments on this article are welcome!
Posted by Child Works at 01:14 PM | Comments (3396)
Here's what one mom had to say after completing the Child-Works plan with her four month old son:
After four months of getting up just about every hour throughout the night, we knew we needed help. I had six or seven sleep books but not the time or energy to read them again. I found it difficult to decide which part of each plan to use - too much information and so many conflicting theories. Rachel was a Godsend. She gave us a plan that clearly outlined what we needed to do… and it worked.
This mom is willing to talk with anyone who is interested.
Posted by Child Works at 05:11 PM | Comments (0)
Here is what one mom recently had to say after completing the Child-Works sleep plan:
Thanks again for all of your guidance and support with getting Ellie to sleep better. We are doing very well and she is sleeping great! She goes down for every nap and at night without any fuss and wakes up happy every time! She seems more rested and even happier then she used to be during the day. Thanks again for your help.
This mom is willing to talk with anyone who is interested.
Posted by Child Works at 05:08 PM | Comments (2812)
Many times I have heard from clients that they were initially hesitant about moving forward with a sleep plan because it was a big financial committment--and it is! I just got off the phone with a client whose baby is going down easily and sleeping happily every night. They are so pleased and recently proclaimed to friend, "It was the best $300 we've ever spent!" Now that friend is excited about implementing sleep plans for both their 7 month old and 3 year old. We at Child-Works are so proud that our services are so valued!
Posted by Child Works at 04:17 PM | Comments (504)