Tag Archives: sleep schedules

When You Have to Sleep at Different Times Than Your Child

In the perfect single parent world, we would all have manageable schedules and get up and have the healthy, unhurried breakfast with our children; go about our days; come back together for a leisurely supper and then all climb into bed around the same time for a good night’s sleep. As most of you know, that ideal is just not the reality for many of us. I think one of the most challenging things for a single parent is when his or her work and sleep schedule are completely different from the needs of the children. Not all jobs are … Continue reading →

Is There a “Best Time” for Bed Time?

One of the parenting topics that come up again and again has to do with bed time. If a parent is not wrestling with a child trying to get her to go to bed, we are trying to get a child to stay in bed. A question that I get asked periodically is whether or not there is a “right” time for bed time? And, if there is anything a parent can do to control when a child goes to bed and how long they sleep? As parents, we can provide structure and reasonable expectations, but there is a certain … Continue reading →

Mourning the Loss of Napping

I have heard more than a few times that naps are a parent’s saving grace! If it wasn’t for nap time, many parents of young ones would truly lose their minds. I think that is why it can be so disconcerting when a child either gives up naps, or turns out to be the sort of person who requires less sleep. We worry for the health of the child and we also wonder what we are going to do as parents without that nice nap time break! I know that in my own parenting, it came as quite a shock … Continue reading →