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Comparison is the thief of joy…..
Especially when it comes to sleep and especially when you accidentally get talking to THAT MUM from your NCT/baby massage/antenatal class or baby group.
You know the one……her baby slept through the night at 6/7/8 weeks of age.
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I often find toddlers find it hard to fall asleep sometimes. With brain development and their increasing understanding of the world around them toddlers and preschoolers often find switching off and relaxing enough to fall asleep a challenge but harnessing the power of their imagination
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What’s not a big deal to us grown ups can be a huge deal with our toddlers, emotions and feelings that are new or overwhelming for our little ones can be a reason why they sometimes struggle to fall asleep or getting back to sleep when our little ones wake up!<blog_break>
At times when our little ones are having a meltdown or tantrum try to remember (I know this is easier said than done) that a tantrum is really your little ones struggling to deal with something and that sometimes they need our help to deal and cope with those feelings.
It doesn’t mean giving them what they think they want, Sometimes it’s just acknowledging to them 
what they are feeling and allowing them to space to feel it and then calm down from it.
It’s really really easy, when sleep deprived to react impulsively when your toddlers kicking off, but remembering that meltdowns and tantrums are just your child’s way of communicating to you.
A tantrum is their way of saying “ I can’t deal with this can you help me with it”. That doesn’t mean doing whatever necessary to stop the tantrum & tears, it can mean just acknowledging what he or she is feeling and allowing them to feel it in that moment.
Kids will sometimes have tantrums because you’ve put boundaries in place, they don’t like those boundaries and are mad about it, does that mean you allow them to push those limits because you don’t want them to be angry? Anger is an emotion like any other and at some point in life it’s an emotion that they will experience. It’s ok to be mad or angry. It’s a normal emotion and a learning opportunity for your toddler. They can be angry and they can calm down from it if you show them how, but they won’t learn how to deal with anger and other negative emotions if we don’t allow them to feel them, develop an understanding of them and learn how to calm down. Our little ones rarely listen to what we say but they do pay attention to how we behave.
Its our job to calm the chaos not join in with it!
Do you have any tips for dealing with toddler tantrums and meltdowns? Share with us what works for you in the comments.
Having a toddler who refuses to sleep can be super challenging. Finding solutions for toddler sleep that are gentle and evidence based can be even more challenging....until now. I've worked with families 
with children under 2 for nearly 20 years both day & night. I created this e-book with 10 of my top tips to help you get your toddler or preschooler sleeping again. You can download it to your Kindle or Smartphone or tablet, and carry out the tips of your choice right away!! Click here to download your toddler sleep e-book for FREE right here click here ( or click the pic!)
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It can be really hard to change how your baby sleeps when you’re not sure how, are probably chronically sleep deprived, lacking in confidence and probably in patience too. Changing another person’s habits, never mind those of your baby can be tough but changing your own sleep habits so your better able to cope with sleep deprivation in the short term is much easier! â €
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When i was a room leader in the baby room of a day nursery i recall this one child who was a bit of a Jekyll and Hyde. He was 2 years old, adorable and so well behaved .... …..until his mum came to collect him.
When his mum brought him in for a settling in session she warned us that he could be very challenging. We were told to expect tantrums and meltdowns daily but they almost never happened.
Mum would drop him off to nursery and daddy would pick him up.
This one particular evening mummy came to get him instead of daddy. Daddy was held up at work and the little angel that we were used to seeing suddenly disappeared and in his place... the Tasmanian Devil!
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Yesterday we looked at personality and temperament types of our little ones and how certains types respond in various situations including sleep.