Eduard Estivill - 5 Days to a Perfect Nights Sleep for Your Child: The Secrets to Making Bedtime a Dream

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5 Recent Research:
How to Teach Your Child to Sleep Well from Day One

T wenty years ago, I began studying childhood insomnia. Since then, I have personally treated more than three thousand children with sleep disorders and written a book that parents have affectionately dubbed The Estivill Method. Throughout this time, my method has taught tens of thousands of kids in more than twenty countries how to sleep.

Here, Ill guide you through my method. Essentially a series of steps that, if used correctly, promise to end all the sleepless nights, this book is a store of knowledge based on scientific research, carefully organized with the goal of teaching you how to help your children achieve proper sleep habits.

This method is not meant to be preachy and in no way claims to be the only possible solution. Whats important about this guide is that it is easily applicable to those of you who choose to use it.

As a parent, you know better than anyone that teaching your child to sleep isnt easy. But its definitely not impossible, even though it may have felt that way on more than one desperate occasion. From my clinical experience (those three thousand small patients) and the comments Ive gotten from parents and pediatricians who have put my method into practice, I can assure you of a 96 percent success rate if the rules mapped out in this book are strictly applied. And by strictly, I mean rigorously, not harshly. Just follow this method to the letter and it will work. I promise.

Before you start, please read the following recommendations carefully.

First of all, you need to be convinced that this method will work for you. In order to teach a child healthy sleep habits, you, the parent, grandparent, babysitter, or caretaker, are the key player in the process. And your confidence in this method is essential to your success! If you trust the method completely, you will project your confidence to your child and will see quick and tangible results. You will be faced with new situations, andtrust memany of them will be extremely trying, especially at 4 AM. This is why all the caretakers must work together, drawing from the same set of standards and following the same rules.

Make sure that your child doesnt have medical ailments when you begin treatment. Methodically rule out any type of illness that may be causing your child to sleep poorly, the most common of which are ear infections, lactose intolerance, gastric reflux, and, occasionally, psychological or psychiatric problems. Consult your pediatrician to help you with this.

Recognize that all kids can learn to sleep well even though each child is different and has a unique personality. Some kids catch on quicker than others. Some do as theyre told. Others are more stubborn. Some children are calm and some, more active. From the minute your child is born, you, as a parent, start to see these different personality traits. And of course theyre important, but they should never be used as an excuse to justify insomnia. Teaching your baby to sleep simply means teaching her correct sleep behavior! We learn to sleep, just as we learn to eat, read, and go to the bathroom. Sure, there are active kids who can barely sit still, so its tough imagining them reading a story quietly to themselves. But they will figure it out, sooner or later.

All caregivers should be involved in the treatment and should understand the technique of teaching a habit.

Remember that your child needs you. You, the parents and caretakers, are the ones who will teach her how to sleep on her own; she cant learn this alone. My method offers you all the tools you need. First Ill explain what good sleep behavior involves; then Ill help you teach this to your child. So stop feeling powerless! Theres no reason to feel guilty: No one has ever explained to you how a child learns to sleep. All you need is someone to help guide you!

After so many nights of collective insomnia, you are probably feeling exhausted, irritable, and nervous, but remember that your child is suffering, too. Sleep is an important part of everyones life, and children who sleep poorly are usually crankier and more dependent on their caregivers than kids who sleep well. Once theyve completed my method, many parents feel that they are looking at a whole different child. They say things like, Shes calmer, shes in a good mood, she plays by herself more often, and shes even nicer. But this isnt true. Your baby was born nice and was simply suffering from sleep deprivation.

One simple reason: Nobody can live without sleep, not even animals. During sleep, a childs brain grows and matures more rapidly than it does during daylight hours. Additionally, the body creates everything it will use throughout the next day, which is why a child who doesnt sleep well at night is cranky, nervous, tired, and drowsy in the morning.

Before jumping into the method, lets take an inside look at the physiological aspects of sleep. To begin, lets define what a biological rhythm is and how long it lasts.

A biological rhythm is the systematic repetition of a pattern that takes place in the body, such as the pattern of sleep and wakefulness. Infants repeat a specific biological cycle every three to four hours, which includes such activities as waking up, eating, being bathed, and sleeping. This kind of cycle is called an ultradian rhythm.

CONSEQUENCES OF SLEEP DEPRIVATION

On Nursing Babies and Toddlers

• Irritability, crankiness

• Frequent crying

• Dependence on their caregivers; inability to be on their own

On School-Aged Kids

• Problems with schoolwork

• Insecurity and shyness

• Attitude problems

On Parents

• Tiredness

• Insecurity