Search icon

Early years

28th Nov 2019

Expert says sleep aids can prevent babies from sleeping through the night

Time to ditch the white noise machine?

Anna O'Rourke

We all do it.

Half an hour in the bouncer, a spin in the car, a soother or even a white noise machine in the background – we’ve tried pretty much everything there is to try and get a baby to sleep.

Exhausted mums and dads desperate for a bit of rest themselves will have one go-to trick or another to send baby off to the land of nod but according to one sleep expert, that could be the very reason your little one doesn’t sleep through the night.

“The first thing I tell parents is to remove all sleep aids,” Natasha Cross, director of Baby Sleep Matters told The Sun.

“Whether that’s a mobile over their cot, rocking them to sleep or driving around the block with the baby strapped in to his or her car seat, it has to go.”

Natasha, a qualified baby masseuse and baby sleep coach, also has two kids of her own.

She advocates getting a baby to sleep on their own without the use of anything else.

“I see parents when they are literally desperate,” she said.

“They have tried everything under the sun and are not able to stick to one thing but consistency is key when following my approach.”

There could well be something in what Natasha says, but we don’t think we’ll be giving up our favourite products and tricks any time soon.