Maddy Thompson

Light is one of those parts of children's sleep that can easily get overlooked. Parents understandably spend a lot of time thinking about bedtime routines, naps and whether their child is getting enough sleep. But I often find myself talking to families about what is happening with light across the whole day, not just at bedtime. As a Paediatric Sleep Practitioner and qualified Social Worker, I tend to look at sleep in the context of the whole child. Their age and development matter, but so...

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...