How to end co-sleeping

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How to end co-sleeping

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If you the parent have decided you want to end co-sleeping, then here's what I suggest you do. It's sort of like a multi-step phase, because you can't just go from oh we all sleep in this one bed and now I'm done, and you're going to go down the hallway. They just won't understand that. So again, a family meeting is always a good idea. I'm really supportive of open communication. No surprising our kids with major changes and expect them to understand why. So you may need to have a family meeting, and we're going to sleep in this bedroom. I would suggest you have a few nights where you actually co-sleep in their room. So you're talking about their room, you're playing in their room, and then you have a few nights, maybe 3-5 maximum, where you sleep with them in their room to help them get acclimated. And then you pick the big day. Often it's a Friday or a Saturday night. Where you say, now tonight, I'm not going to lie down with you. I'm going to sit up next to your bed until you're asleep, and then I'm going to go into my bed.An d then you're going to stay there and do that every single time they get up during the night, return them to their room. And then you're going to move out slowly every few nights until finally they're putting themselves to sleep.

Watch Kim West, LCSW-C's video on How to end co-sleeping...

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Kim West, LCSW-C

Psychotherapist & Author, The Sleep Lady's Good Night, Sleep Tight

Kim West is a mother of two and a Licensed Certified Social Worker-Clinical (LCSW-C) who has been a practicing child and family social worker for more than 19 years. Known as The Sleep Lady by her clients, over the past 12 years she has helped thousands of tired parents all over the world learn to listen to their intuition, recognize their child’s important cues and behaviors, and gently create changes that promote and preserve his or her healthy sleep habits. 

West has appeared on the Dr. Phil, Today Show, NBC Nightly News, Good Morning America, TLC’s Bringing Home Baby  and CNN, and has been written about in a number of publications including The Wall Street Journal, Associated Press, Baby Talk,  Parenting, The Baltimore Sun, USA Today, The Telegraph, The Irish Independent and the Washington Post. West hosts the sleep section of The Newborn Channel, played in maternity wards in hospitals across the country. West is the author of The Sleep Lady's Good Night, Sleep Tight: Gentle Proven Solutions to Help Your Child Sleep Well and Wake Up Happy with Joanne Kenen. She is also the author of 52 Sleep Secrets for Babies and The Good Night, Sleep Tight Workbook.

Kim received her master’s degree in Clinical Social Work from Simmons College in Boston, Massachusetts. She lives with her family in Annapolis, Maryland.

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