Maddy Thompson

If you've just welcomed a child into your home, bedtime may be one of the first moments you realise how much they have already lived through. Sleep problems in looked after children are incredibly common, yet many foster carers are surprised by how challenging nights can become. I've met carers who expected the difficult moments to happen during the day, only to find that everything unraveled once the lights went out. One little boy happily spent the afternoon building Lego towers, chatting...

When the recent BBC investigation into the baby sleep industry was released, I wasn't shocked. Concerned? Absolutely. But surprised? Not really. As both a Social Worker and Paediatric Sleep Practitioner, I've spent years working with families, and one thing I've learnt is that exhausted parents can be incredibly vulnerable. Not vulnerable because they're incapable of making good decisions, but because sleep deprivation affects everything. A parent who hasn't slept properly for months might...

If you're reading this at an unthinkable hour while bouncing a baby who seems determined never to sleep again, you're in good company. One of the most common messages I receive from parents goes something like this: "My baby is waking every hour. Is this normal?" Usually, the question arrives after weeks of broken sleep. Parents have often tried adjusting naps, changing bedtimes, buying blackout blinds, introducing white noise and scrolling through enough sleep advice to earn an honorary...