A sleepless child, or one with any of the innumerable sleeping problems, is one of the many anxieties and challenges parents face, and when a child isn’t sleeping, nobody sleeps.
Trying to solve the problem of a sleepless child – infants through to preschoolers, can be difficult, if not agonizing, which is where Canmore resident and child sleep consultant Marcy Casselman comes in.
Casselman, a mother of four, is a certified Sleep Sense consultant – a program developed in the U.S. – and her single goal is to help children, and their parents, get a good night’s sleep.
“A lot of (parents) say ‘if I could just get six hours,’ and I just laugh, we’re going to get you more than that. We’re going to get you a good night’s sleep and we are going to get you great naps,” Casselman said.
Casselman works with a family to create a customized plan, taking into account each family’s unique circumstances, routines and schedules. It’s a two-week process that begins with a 90-minute in-house consultation and continues with four follow-up phone calls and unlimited email support.
It’s an adaptable process, but success depends on communication.
“Part of my experience with pursuing this was talking with new moms and just going through the same struggles I went through as a mom and I remember reading the sleep books and thinking, I wish this person could come to my house. I wish I could ask them the questions I have,” Casselman said.
“My message is not to tell people that they should be doing it a certain way, that they should be parenting a certain way. That is not my mission here.”
Instead, her mission is to provide parents with the support they need to solve the one very specific problem of a sleepless child.
Casselman said she does more than just offer advice. Instead, she strives to get a clear idea of parents’ expectations and goals while providing practical solutions to help solve the problem by creating healthy sleep habits; and that does not include putting children to bed and letting them cry it out.
“It can get so overwhelming when you get advice from everywhere. I feel like what I offer parents is very middle of the road. I’m not one extreme or the other. It is very important to me to be very respectful of families and where they are coming from and where they want to go.
“Basically, my job is to set up the environment for success so there is minimized protest,” she said. “Babies thrive when their environment is such that they are having their needs met. I talk to my parents a lot about giving them all the love and attention and cuddles and stories.”
Casselman can be reached by email at [email protected] or by calling 403-609-1712. Her website address is www.marcycasselman.com for more information.
