It’s a good idea to set up some rewards for your child as they learn to sleep alone. At the end of the first session be prepared to agree on a prize with your child for achieving their first goal, such as a trip to a movie or a small toy for going to sleep in their own bed three nights in a row (note that three nights in a row requires more practice than just three nights in total). They may still come into your bed during the night but that’s ok. You can create another prize for handling that part later.
You can also create other prizes for other achievements as needed, such as a prize for going to sleep in their own bed for 7 nights in a row, or a prize for successfully sleeping on a makeshift bed on the floor ¼, ½ or ¾ of the way to their bedroom if sleeping in their own bed is impossible at first.
If you see that your child is working with the program and is really trying, but is having difficulty just falling asleep, then using a bit of melatonin (1 to 5mg) for one or two weeks can be useful to help them get into the new pattern of falling asleep in their own bed.
The program is designed to help your child solve the problem in manageable chunks, one piece at a time. The ultimate goal is for your child to reach a low anxiety level of only 0 to 2, which will then take them to the final piece of the program (the Confidence Session) to lock in their new found confidence at bedtime and solidify the change.
Best wishes,
Dr Mark Lauderdale
