A woman with blonde, wavy hair and blue eyes smiling at the camera, sitting in a bright living room with large windows, houseplants, and a couch in the background.

Gentle, evidence based sleep support for children and families

Helping young children build healthy sleep habits with a responsive behavioural approach.

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Common Sleep Challenges

  • Two children, a boy and a girl, playing and jumping on a messy bed indoors, with plants and decorations in the background.

    Bedtime Battles

    Struggling with tantrums, delays, or resistance at bedtime? I’ll help create a calm, predictable routine.

  • A bedside table with a glowing round lamp, a digital clock, and a small wooden house-shaped ornament, next to a bed with white bedding, against a dark wall and wooden headboard.

    Frequent Night Awakenings?

    Waking every few hours? Together we’ll build healthy sleep associations and longer stretches.

  • Sunset over a city skyline with dark clouds in the sky.

    Waking up far too early?

    If 4:30–5:30am wake-ups are ruining your mornings… We can fix that with gentle behavioural strategies.

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Falling Asleep as a Behaviour

Sleep is often talked about as something that should “just happen”.
In reality, falling asleep is a behaviour that develops and changes over time.

Like other behaviours, falling asleep is influenced by learning, environment, skills and skill deficits, and past experiences. When we understand sleep in this way, it becomes easier to support children gently and realistically.

  • A behaviour is something a person does that is shaped by what happens before and after it.

    Falling asleep fits this definition.
    It happens in a particular context, under certain conditions, and often with support from others.

    For children, this might include:

    • how bedtime usually looks

    • what helps them feel calm and regulated

    • how they fall asleep at the start of the night

    • what happens if they wake during the night

    Over time, these experiences shape how falling asleep happens again.

  • Not all children learn sleep skills in the same way or at the same pace.

    Sleep can be influenced by:

    • developmental stage

    • sensory processing

    • communication needs

    • anxiety or regulation differences

    • consistency of routines and responses

    • previous experiences around sleep

    When sleep difficulties are viewed only as a routine problem or a lack of consistency, important factors can be missed.

  • Many sleep approaches focus on what parents should do, rather than why sleep difficulties are happening for that child.

    Understanding falling asleep as a behaviour allows support to be:

    • individualised rather than generic

    • responsive rather than rigid

    • focused on skill development rather than compliance

    This approach does not rely on forcing change or ignoring distress. Instead, it focuses on helping children develop the skills and conditions they need to fall asleep and return to sleep over time.

  • Behavioural sleep support focuses on:

    • understanding the function of sleep-related behaviours

    • identifying what helps and what gets in the way

    • supporting gradual, sustainable change

    • working within the child’s developmental and emotional needs

    This approach is particularly helpful for children who have not responded to standard sleep advice or who need a more individual approach.

  • Sleep difficulties affect the whole family.
    Support should feel manageable, respectful, and realistic.

    Understanding falling asleep as a behaviour helps families move away from blame or frustration and towards clarity and confidence.

  • If you are unsure whether sleep support would be helpful for your child, you are welcome to book a free 15 minute sleep support call.

    This short call provides space to talk through what is happening and explore options, with no obligation to continue.

Book a free 15 minute call
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