Single Moms Need Sleep!!

Obviously, society doesn't give nearly enough credit to mothers and the incredible amount of work that we do to raise our children!! But when you're a single parent, (or a parent whose spouse isn't helpful), the demands of motherhood can really put you over the edge. As a single mom, you have the demands of working to support your family, caregiving, keeping your home together and attempting to still have a life yourself! However, if your child doesn't have a reasonably early bedtime and sleep through the night, getting to yourself can be impossible. I've worked with far too many moms who have to do it all on their own. And they often undervalue the importance of self-care when taking care of children yet are starting to feel less patient, more depressed and exasperated when they aren't getting any time to themselves. In order to raise a happy, healthy and well attached child, it's critical that both mother and child get enough sleep. Without it, you've got a grumpy mama who resents her role as caregiver and who lacks patience and enthusiasm for raising her child.

So an important priority for a mom who's on her her own is sleep! Helping your babies to have a nice early bedtime, a good wind-down routine, learn how to self-soothe and to sleep through the night not only help mom get some much needed down-time but also help baby get enough sleep nutrition. If you're needing a roadmap for this, you can check out a variety of sleep books at your local bookstore or the book or DVD I co-created, "The Sleepeasy Solution."

When my kids were little, I had steam coming out of my nose if they weren't in bed by 8 pm! Even with a partner to help with the kids, the evening hours have always served as a respite from the intensity of the days where I can watch silly TV, catch up on my emails or read a trashy novel. It makes me feel like me again. And when the morning comes, I'm excited to see my kids again! Refueling at night is really one of the greatest gifts any of us moms can give to ourselves on a daily basis. If you haven't made your children's sleep a priority, I encourage you to do it...not only for them but for yourselves!