sleep and rest Sleep and rest play an important role in any child’s development. Sleep allows a child’s mind and body to rest and recover and helps support their mental and physical development. For many parents of babies and toddlers, creating good sleep associations and routines can be a tricky, daunting prospect and support can be hard to find. Whether it be reading your baby’s cues, sleep settling and infant development, as well as the circle of security, primary caregiving and the health and wellbeing of babies in a caring and safe environment, knowing that there is support available can be a comforting relief.
Sleep and rest in an early years and education setting In the early years and education settings, with routines being a daily focus, there is an opportunity to build a strong bond between educator and child, and the essential support to achieve the lifelong benefits associated with quality infant sleep and rest. Providing a calm, engaging and supportive environment where educators can flourish and focus on the individual child settling down to sleep, provides the children with the home like environment, mimicking the parent to child interaction. Educators and families learn the skills together to enhance the sleep and the settling of children. Families are provided with the comfort and reassurance that their child is in a safe environment; supporting their child’s emotional needs and being able to provide a secure attachment helps reduce the stress level of parents and children.
A baby’s sleep cycle When babies are in a deep sleep they do not flinch, but instead are very relaxed and sound asleep. Like adults, babies move between active sleep and quiet sleep. Active sleep (Rapid Eye Movement) displays movement of the face and eyes under the lids, twitching, jerkiness and even making little sounds. 14
Quiet sleep (non-Rapid Eye Movement) displays lack of facial or eye movement and bursts of sucking movements, (deep sleep). A key difference between a baby’s sleep cycle and that of an adult is the sleep time - a baby’s normal sleep cycle is 20-45 minutes compared to an adult’s sleep cycle of 90-120-minutes and for the most part, babies cannot join one sleep cycle to the next. The key to supporting babies to sleep is be guided by your baby; as soon as they display these tired signs prepare them for sleep. Many babies will fall asleep anywhere and won’t require a darkened room. Quiet background sounds such as white noise can help infants relax and drift off to sleep. Signs to look out for when your child is tired: Blank gaze, pale face, jerky movements, reddened eyebrows and around the eyes, grizzling and hiccups and finally yawning
Infant cues Infant cues are the key to communicating with your infant. Recognising their cues will assist you with their needs. Babies will display both engaging and disengaging cues, and individual infants will have different cues for different things. Some tips include: • Learn their cues for eating, sleeping, hunger and much more. • Babies are more likely to respond at certain times depending on what cues they are displaying. • Engage and listen to your baby as they communicate through their behaviour, such as making eye contact, or gazing at you • When babies need to be changed, they become restless, push you away, arch their back, displaying disengaging cues. Niño Early Learning Adventures deliver a response-based gentle approach to settling children at sleep time. To learn more, visit ninoela.com.au.
