Sweet Dreams

Sleeping tips for happy babies (and mums).

Establishing good sleeping habits starts as soon as your baby is born. Many mums try to devise complicated sleeping plans for their babies, running into a few problems along the way, but sticking to basics is the best bet when trying to guarantee a good night’s sleep for the whole family.

“Babies need more sleep than adults because they grow very quickly. Proper brain development requires sufficient, good quality sleep. For 0 –1 year olds, research suggests between 12 – 18 hours for a 24-hour period. Breastfed babies may sleep one to one and a half hours at a time. Between the ages of one and three years old, babies need between 11 – 14 hours of sleep,” says Occupational Therapist Aine McGrath, medical director at the Dubai-based Pure Child Health.

Here are Aine’s tips for a better night’s sleep:

1 Where possible, sleep environments should be conducive to sleeping: