Is it too late or too early to sleep train?
If I had a dollar for every time someone asked me “Is it too early or too late to sleep train my baby?”, I would be rich!
I get asked this question all the time from desperate parents yearning for a little bit of sleep in their lives, and my answer is really simple; No. It’s never too early and no it’s never too late. Granted, the methods and approaches used are vastly different from newborns to infants and toddlers, but my answer remains the same. You can start teaching your little one independent sleep skills at any age and stage, from day one with your newborn or with an older baby or toddler who may have never before mastered the skill of sleep.
Which parent are you?
There are two kinds of parents when it comes to sleep training; Parents who panic as they wonder how their lives will be or how they’ll survive parenthood with lack of sleep, and who also want to make sure they start implementing good sleep habits from the get-go. They want as much structure and predictability as humanly possible from the very beginning. Then you have parents who are thinking that they’ve missed the boat and will now be stuck dealing with their child’s sleep issues until the end of time. These parents have never given sleep training a second thought and perhaps they never even knew it was possible to do anything with the newborns and were just waiting for the ‘right time’ to sleep train.
Whether you are the parent looking to structure your newborn’s sleep from day one or you are the parent of an infant or toddler who are now dealing with sleep issues you never even knew existed, I have news for you…you can start at any time.
It’s never too late.
It’s never too late to sleep train your baby or child. Good sleep habits are learned and you can teach your child how to sleep independently at any age, albeit, it’s much easier when they’re younger, as their sleep habits are not as hardwired as they are when they’re older. That being said, if you have an older toddler or child who is really struggling with sleep and hasn’t yet mastered the skill of independent sleep, don’t fret, you can teach them! I work with older babies and children all the time and have great outcomes. It often takes more time to see results, but if you commit to making the changes, you will see progress relatively quickly! So don’t lose hope, it’s not too late.
It’s never too early.
It’s never too early to implement good sleep habits. While it may be too early to officially sleep train or use formal methods of sleep training with a newborn, it’s never too early to teach them independent sleep skills and provide them with the right tools to gently encourage them toward great sleep. Laying the groundwork for good sleep habits is something I encourage everyone to do because it just makes life so much easier now and in the long run (in my humble opinion). So no, you don’t have to wait till your Baby is 4 months old or older in order for you and your child to have proper sleep, a solid routine and much needed predictability in your life. I work with many moms from the day they get home from the hospital and often even beforehand to prepare them with all the tools and knowledge they need. You can start now; all you need is a plan, lots of practice, patience, consistency and of course, flexibility while implementing good sleep habits in the newborn stage.