Sleep is something that can be influenced by our day to day activity. The same happens with baby. All the little actions, routines and activities are crucial and determined for their moments of rest. Some of these aspects can be immediately understood, but others can often not be immediately associated to this important sphere in the growth and development of the baby.
This way, we bring one more of our guests that we had the pleasure to have in our Wedoble Talks, Mafalda Navarro. Mafalda is a Psychologist and Sleep Therapist and explains to us some elements that we should pay attention to. The main theme of this talk was to understand the importance of sleep in the development of the baby, how we can influence the sleep of our children/babies, highlighting small details that, in a certain way, are essential.
We leave here the main elements addressed in this conversation:
- Babies' activities - these must be didactic and appropriate to their age and, above all, they must be a time for them to spend their energy;
- Relationship with parents - babies need moments of sharing and connection with their parents, touch and cuddling are fundamental and transmit the idea of security from their nearest people;
- The issue of sleep itself - the amount of sleep the baby has during the day will influence his sleep at night; the idea of accumulating hours of sleep is not appropriate and should be managed according to the baby's needs;
- The conditions of the room - it must be an appropriate space for the time of day (managing the light in the room) and its temperature must always be taken into consideration;
- The importance of naps - these are essential for the growth of the baby/child and we should be aware and understand how many naps are taken and when the baby shows signs of needing them;
- The time to go to sleep - it is decisive for the quality of sleep to have a moment of preparation and small actions so that the baby understands that it is time to go to sleep - a good example would be telling a story before going to sleep;
- Screen time - this is an aspect pointed out by our guest, who says that parents should manage this aspect - not too little, but not too much;
- Meals - adapting the meals according to what the baby needs - a good and complete diet will allow the baby to sleep better and more consistently; not to confuse a moment when the baby is sleepy with the need to eat; the appearance of some illnesses can also be associated to meals and consequently can influence the quality of the baby's sleep;
- Growth peaks - at these moments the baby's organism will be focused on motor and cognitive development, which can affect feeding and baby's sleep;
- The routine - babies love a good routine, due to the fact that it provides them with a dynamic, predictable and secure day-to-day routine - understanding what is happening through small usual actions is essential; we must not forget that each baby is different and, therefore, requires an appropriate routine;
- The question of crying - we should not ignore when the baby is crying - it is a way for the baby to want to communicate or show the need for his lap and this is good for the baby to sleep well;
- Consistency is necessary and a key word when we approach baby's sleep - in everything you do (activities, routines or small actions) baby should feel safe and understand what is next - all this should be repeated and done consistently.
These are some tips and points considered key for Psychologist Mafalda Navarro. If you want to understand, in a more detailed way, about this subject we leave here the video, in which some questions are answered in a completely open and enlightening conversation on this topic.
We would like to thank Mafalda Navarro for her availability and for this very interesting conversation about this subject, which can sometimes bring many doubts to parents.
The video is available on Wedoble's Facebook page —https://fb.watch/lqlPv87pfv/
What about you? We want to know your opinions, experience and if you have any other tips or if these that were mentioned worked.
