Light or no Light? Guidelines or Rules?

My suggestions for sleep are all guidelines and not rules. The kids I work with are on the very alert side the things I know are very helpful.

In the case of night light vs no night light;  Night lights are best to use on toddlers that are expressing a fear of the dark. For children under two years old, it's best to have it as dark as you can possibly get it. The darkness helps the body to regulate its natural circadian rhythm's. The light tricks the body into thinking that it's dawn and in the early morning hours are when there is more REM sleep. In the REM sleep are shorter sleep cycles and therefore more frequent waking when you don't have great sleep skills. Nevertheless, I have heard of the night light helping in a few cases so it's not to be completely discounted.  Every child is different and once you try the things that make sense to you and you feel good about first, then thinking outside the norm is a great idea.

 

Here are some examples of guidelines, not rules; 

I would try no light before I would try light.   I would try earlier bedtime before I would try later. I would try a 2222 schedule before I would try 234 on a child under 9 months. I would try 2 naps until 15-18 months before I would try 1 nap at 12 months. 

This is because the science supports those things and I have seen them work the most often.  But, every one is unique and we have the pleasure of figuring out our baby's each individual sleep puzzle. It does seem like a puzzle. Right? Lol.