Holistic Sleep Coaching: Gentle Alternatives to Sleep Training for Health and Childcare Professionals

by Lyndsey Hookway

Infants are probably sleeping no differently now than they were 1000 years ago. However, parenting has changed. We are dealing with the paradox of parenting information overload, coupled with time-poverty. Parents know more than ever about the importance of love, attachment and security to young children. They may know about good nutrition, stress management, toxins, skin to skin, breastfeeding, one-to-one time, emotion coaching and organic food. Parents are bombarded with appliances that are supposed to make their lives easier, and yet end up confused about what is really necessary. At the same time, modern parents are leading busy, expensive lives, and have jobs that they love or need. And within all this, their babies are still sleeping the same as they always have.



Some sleep experts are quick to suggest quick fixes to lengthen infant sleep, but there is growing concern that techniques such as extinction may have negative outcomes for infants as well as being stressful for parents. Holistic sleep coaching is a multi-dimensional approach that looks at the big picture and recognises that babies’ needs are not just physical but psychological, emotional and relational. Holistic Sleep Coaching provides an evidence-based overview of how to optimise sleep without leaving babies and children to cry for health and child care professionals.

Genres: Parenting, Childrens

351 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 2018

About the author

Lyndsey Hookway is a London-trained paediatric nurse, health visitor, IBCLC, holistic sleep coach, independent lecturer and international speaker. She is currently undertaking a postgraduate degree at Swansea University, exploring the needs of medically complex breastfed children and their families. She has an international private practice supporting families with sleep, breastfeeding, bottle-feeding and responsive, gentle parenting, and has supported thousands of families with early parenting over the last 15 years. She runs a successful online sleep programme which promotes responsive parenting and family-centred care and is particularly known for her creative sleep solutions for toddlers and preschoolers. She is the author of Let's talk about your new family's sleep, Holistic Sleep Coaching and Still Awake.

Reviews

[Karen Meade · Rating 5 out of 5]

Easy-to-read yet chock-full off useful, evidence-based information and strategies. A must-read for anyone working with families and children.

[Lol Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you’re looking for a ‘quick fix’ for your child’s sleep, this isn’t it. However, if you’re looking to understand children’s sleep better, from a holistic perspective, this book is excellent. I love Hookway’s non-judgemental attitude and how much everything she says/recommends is based purely on evidence and research.

[Sarah Mason · Rating 5 out of 5]

So easy to follow

I have read a few other gentle parenting books which providee alot of how to's however I was missing the why, I waned to undertand why it takes my baby only 5mins to fall asleep one time then 20mins another. The book has been written extremely well, information is bite sized and easily digested. Highly recommend for every new parent.

[Sadie Brown · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kinda helpful

It talked a lot about needing to customize plans to families and children but didn't actually give examples of what that looked like. As a parent that can't afford to hire help, I wish this would have given me a few more hints on how to help my son.

[Cornelia · Rating 5 out of 5]

If, first and foremost, you are looking to understand the ins and outs of sleep for babies, this is the book to read. And I might venture out saying that probably not many other books would be needed on this topic as a new parent: sleep training charlatans, be gone! It is chock-full with research, while being down-to-earth and very comprehensive. It does live up to its name when it says it is “holistic”. I am happy to have found it earlier rather than later as it has helped me understand what healthy, normal sleep behaviour looks like and understand the critical fact that my baby’s sleep doesn’t need fixing, just loving.