Sleep with Siblings

When it comes to helping a little one develop healthy sleep habits, sometimes that means there can be some crying or intermittent involvement with a parent. This can be challenging in its own right, but can be compounded for parents if they also have other children in the house to consider.

Here are some ways to overcome some very common sleep challenges when considering more than one child:
 

• Sharing a room. If you’re looking to sleep train a younger child (a.k.a. helping them learn to fall asleep on their own) I would recommend working on the younger one’s sleep without the sibling in the room. Can the sibling sleep in another room for a few nights until sleep has vastly improved for the little one? Maybe set them up on a floor bed in your room, just until you’re seeing improvements with the younger child, then they can move back into their own room. This will help the younger child learn this skill more quickly as you can just focus on them.

 

• If baby is crying, it will wake the other kids. Yes, it might. It can be really surprising what children can sleep through though, especially when in a deep sleep! But this can be tough especially during the early morning hours (4-6am) where falling back asleep can be a bit more challenging.
  • First, get some white noise going! One for baby in his/her room, by the door or wall where it may connect with sibling’s room. One for the sibling in their room (again, near door or wall that may be shared). You might also get more white noise going in the hallway, depending on where rooms are located. You don’t have to go out and buy all the machines! Apps from smart phones or fans can act as white noise as well.
  • Talk it out with siblings. Let them know that baby/younger brother or sister may wake up crying, but know he/she is okay and you’re working to help them get better sleep.
    
  • Short term “pain” for long term gain. Ultimately you have to be able to be consistent with the child’s sleep you’re working on, so if siblings wake up in the short term, maybe during the first few days of a program/plan, sleep will get better and prematurely waking for the day won’t continue.

 

• Managing multiple bedtimes. This can be tough, and especially tough if only one parent is doing bedtime! Ultimately you have to do what works for your family, but I would usually recommend letting the younger child take precedence. If baby is getting to bed too late because you’re busy putting another child to bed, they can get overtired more quickly and that can cause more problems with overnight sleep. So, plan to put the younger one to bed whenever possible, and start the bedtime routines earlier so there’s more wiggle room in case things get wild!
  
  Other options: Can sibling(s) get involved in helping the little one get ready for bed? Can you all read a book together, but while you’re putting the little one to bed, the other can “read” quietly until you return?

 

• Working around a toddler’s schedule with baby’s naps. Much like the above issue, it’s generally better to focus on the younger child’s schedule as they can become overtired more quickly and easily. Can siblings get involved in the process? Can you plan some quiet activities for one while getting the other one ready for sleep?

 
Ultimately you have to find something that works for your family and some of these responses can be a bit too general for some of your experiences. If you have specific questions around these points and need some tailored tools to help with sleep in your household, don’t hesitate to reach out and ask!


Happy Sleeping!

Ashley


Ashley is a Birth, Baby and Sleep Educator located in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia Canada.