Sleep Right Program - FAQs

When I started my career as a Child Sleep and Food Habits coach, I initially for a very short period did offer in person consultations. But as time passed and word spread about my consultations, I had clients from different parts of India asking me how they could also avail of my services. I also found that parents found it challenging to travel in the traffic of Indian cities and reach at the appointment time and then stay patiently to do long sessions with me, along with a baby in tow. As my Service does not require any physical tests, there was no real reason to meet any of my clients in person and so I switched my modus operandi to Video / Audio sessions. In the last 12 years that has been the only way I do all my consultations. In the early days some of my clients used to be a bit apprehensive about this method of consultation, but they have no reservations about it after they have tried it. Now, ofcourse this method of consultation is not uncommon at all and is infact appreciated. Because of this method of consultation, I have been able to serve clients from many first and second tier cities in India and clients internationally from the United Kingdom, Belgium, Switzerland, France, UAE / Dubai, Oman, Qatar, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Hong Kong, Thailand, Japan, USA, Canada, to name a few.

Method is always determined after understand many factors like your child's age, temperament, personality, daily routines and habits, root cause of the sleep problem and much more. Based on these I develop and tailor a plan that suits your baby and your unique situation. There are numerous methods that have been developed to address child sleep issues. Honestly I find every method has its pros and cons and are effective when used under the right circumstances and in the correct manner. Correctly matching a method that suits your babys sleep situation and your parenting style is what my focus becomes. I have an entire blog on the Cry-It-Out method and my view and opinion on it, in case you want to take a look at it - as that is the question most parents have on their mind :)

Not really. I understand that every family's situation and preferences are different. I will work with your sleeping arrangement as long as it is safe for the child. If I find it is not, I will advice you on ways you can baby proof it. In the last 12 years at least 50% of the parents who worked with me were bed sharing.

Yes. I am a certified Maternity and Child Sleep Coach. I have learned through my own experience as a mother of two children and furthered it studying from international experts in the field and also by advancing my education with the International Parenting & Health Institute, USA. I am also a member of the Association of Professional Sleep Consultants. I am now also a Certified Adult Sleep Consultant but I have not yet start my practice in that space due to lack of time. I am not a Pediatrician or a medical professional and will not consult you on any medical concerns. If you have any health related concerns for your child or their sleep, please consult with your doctor or other licensed medical professional.

Instilling good sleep habits can begin the day you bring your baby home. Sleep coaching, however, generally begins after 5 months of age as most children are not developmentally ready before that. However, parents can begin establishing good sleep habits right from the start. I think we can all agree that it’s easier to start your child off on the right foot rather than addressing challenges later. Prevention is always better than the cure!! Which is why many parents prefer to consult me in their last trimester or within a month after their delivery to ensure they start off on the right foot.

I typically work with children up to the age of 5 years. However, I have occasionally worked with older children as well.

Even though this is the most common question, there is really no concrete answer I can give. Given that no two babies, parents or situations are the same, it is hard to say definitively how quickly results can be achieved. Results are often dependent on the age of the child, method of training used, part trainings done prior to this one, consistency or the lack of it in implementation etc. In my experience most parents can expect positive changes within two weeks...and some in just a matter of 2-4 days. The important thing is to be 100% committed to the Sleep Right Plan and follow it consistently to achieve the desired results. Honestly in the big scheme of things it doesnt matter if it takes 2 days or 2 months if you can eventually help your baby to get some good sleep. Ofcourse 2 days is always preferred but that not the average time :)

Young children communicate happiness with smiles and laughter, and displeasure with unhappy noises or crying. This is their basic way of communication!! When you make changes to their sleep habits there will be some level of protest. Crying is your child's way of protesting change. However, I always try to employ a compassionate and practical approach towards teaching your child positive and healthy sleep habits.

The Sleep Right Program utlises a compassionate and practical method in its implementation. While there may be protest crying while training, the goal is to always try to keep it to the least minimum possible. The amazing thing about babies and toddlers is how smart and capable they are to understand a situation. Once they start getting used to the changed ways then you will be surprised at how quickly their protests and cries can turn into positive acceptance. That said, I believe Gary Feldman (Medical Director, Stramski Disorders Center, Miller Children's Hospital ) answers this question best. In his own words he says: "The crying during sleep training in itself will not affect the child psychologically. It's important for parents to understand something: the issues, the sleep disorder and the behavior disorder that the child has over the long term is actually probably worse than the few days or the weeks or so that the child is gonna spend crying. You must understand that they're crying when they're being trained. They're not gonna cry the same amount every night. But how it affects quality of life, how it affects the interaction between the parent in the daytime when you have exhausted parents and you have a child who's demanding. Think about it that way versus a child who's cried for a few days who's now sleeping better, the parents are sleeping better. The child is not perceived as being demanding or irritating in the daytime, and generally, the quality of time and the quality of care that the child receives and the enjoyment that the parents get in the day is far outweighs the brief moments of crying that were encountered when they were training."

I currently do not working with families whose children have special needs as it is outside my scope of practice.

Families with twins children enrolling in the Sleep Right Program at the same time, can benefit from 50% off the additional package. Meaning you are charged full price for one baby and half for the second baby. In this case, you will also avail 7+4 = 11 follow up email support included with the Sleep Right Program. However, in case you want your children handled separately, i.e. you want to get one child trained with the program before you start training the other twin baby, then it will be treated as two separate packages. For siblings, two separate packages need to be taken to reflect the age differences, as well as the unique characteristics of each child that need to be taken into consideration for developing the customized Sleep Right Plan.

That is generally not a problem. My methods are always designed to suit your parenting styles. You will be involved in shaping the design of the Sleep Right Plan. So rest assured if you like to continue co-sleeping then the plan will be designed to include that.

A Professional Child Sleep Consultant / Coach is a professional who can aid you in teaching your baby the skills necessary to put themselves to sleep. Unlike sitting up or rolling over, good sleep habits are not innate to a baby! Being able to put themselves to sleep is a skill most babies need guidance to learn…and they are fully capable of learning this. A Baby Sleep Coach can provide the information and support you need in teaching your baby develop healthy sleep habits he/she needs for healthy development. As a Sleep Consultant, I work with the parents to understand in detail their unique challenges and situation (home setup, family, child habits and patterns, etc.) to develop a customized, Sleep Plan to help them with the child. I then help them through follow up emails in the implementation of the Sleep Plan to help maximise the success of the program.