Inaugural Baby Sleep Day Hopes To Help Families Rest Easier

How can I get my infant on a sleep schedule? What does a good naptime routine look like? Why is my toddler waking up in the middle of the night—and what can I do about it?

These are some of the common questions that parents and caregivers ask about their children’s sleep, said Erin Leichman, Ph.D., executive director of the Pediatric Sleep Council.

Those queries and countless others, ranging from sleep environment to sleep safety, is what led PSC to launch babysleep.com in late January  (opens in a new tab), a free resource that aims to provide parents and caregivers with credible advice concerning their children’s sleep.

“Sleep affects every aspect of a baby’s, as well as a family’s well-being, including mood, learning, and health. Yet, approximately one-third of parents report their child has a sleep problem,” said Dr. Jodi Mindell, chair of PSC, in a press release. “We created babysleep.com to bring awareness to this common problem and provide education and resources to help.”

Now, to raise awareness about this resource, PSC has established March 1 as Baby Sleep Day  (opens in a new tab). For 24 hours, more than 20 sleep experts from around the world  (opens in a new tab) will be on Facebook  (opens in a new tab) answering questions about baby sleep.

Participants have two options for submitting questions. They can either post their questions to the PSC Facebook page  (opens in a new tab) ahead of March 1, and when the various experts log on to Facebook, they’ll reply to those queries. Or users can check out the schedule of experts and ask their questions in real time.

The main goal of Baby Sleep Day is to reach as many people as possible with the trustworthy resources they need. The video content and written advice on the website is one way to get that information, but Leichman said the Facebook Q&A session allows people to individualize their questions.

“We really want this information to not only help babies sleep better, but also to help families sleep better … because when a baby is sleeping well, the whole family is sleeping well,” she said.

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