I had my own children who didn’t sleep very well and as I have a background in science, I started researching infant sleep from a scientific perspective. I found a lot of common threads that translated into better sleep for my own children and friends. I wanted to stay at home with my babies and not work outside of the home when they were young so, with my knowledge, a lot of people encouraged me to investigate sleep consultancy as a job.
Having a background in biology allowed me to understand things like circadian rhythms, homeostatic sleep drive and sleep hormones and their influence on sleep. It has meant that I have always looked for the evidence when evaluating sleep strategies rather than the emotion a lot of people attach to sleep training.
Our principals have always been around quality teaching, ensuring students have a mentor who works with them for the duration of the program as I believe students need to be able to ask questions and have someone guide them as they learn. The continuity and mentor of the student relationship means your mentor can really push you to get the most out of your training.
We also strive to provide the most comprehensive training possible. For example, we’re always seeking more professionals to deliver on their speciality and upskill our students. This means our graduates have the most holistic understanding of what influences sleep and can provide a more comprehensive plan and solution for their clients.
Most people think sleep training is all about “cry it out” but there are so many different options, and our graduates are able to tailor even the most common sleep training methods to suit a client’s needs.
Another big misconception is parents not understanding what even the smallest tweaks are doing to their little one’s sleep. Parents will have tried something such as a routine or the Ferber method, but they tweak the routine because they didn’t completely understand what they read and, consequently, they’re offering too much or too little sleep. This affects their baby’s ability to consolidate their naps or night sleep. Or, for example, the Ferber method, parents haven’t understood the impact giving a dummy/pacifier does during check-ins and then wonder why the method isn’t working.
As consultants, we ask a lot of questions during the consultation period as parents sometimes assume what we want to know and skip over some details which are very important.
The mentorship aspect allows for differentiation in education, while the lectures are the same for everyone, your mentor can see what you are struggling with and guide you more on that strategy or age group. Our mentors can see any bias you might have bought with you to the training and challenge those thoughts or push you to think about another perspective and really open your eyes to what the science says about sleep training.
This means our graduates come away with an education that has forced them to think critically about what they’ve learnt and, consequently, they can create better quality plans and support more families.
To work out the right approach, we encourage students to look at the family dynamics, the parent’s parenting style, and the child’s temperament.
Are there multiple children and logistically a parent can’t stay with the baby all the time? Or perhaps there is postnatal depression or postpartum depression, and we need to minimise stress on mum. Then, asking questions and observing parenting styles means consultants can see which approach suits the parenting style. Ultimately if someone has to compromise, parent or baby, it has to be the parent as we can’t change temperament.
If a parent’s presence overstimulates a baby but the parent wants to stay in the room, it’s the consultant’s job to help them see why that approach isn’t the best fit.
Get started as soon as possible! If you don’t look back at your first social media post, first blog, first website, first logo and cringe a bit, you waited too long to get started. Imperfect action is still moving the needle whereas if you wait for perfection, you are getting nowhere.
Also, network, network, network. It is much cheaper to leverage someone else’s audience when getting started than build your own. Find someone with a shared client base who is not competing with you (not another sleep consultant), and offer to do a Q&A, write a blog or get in front of their audience on socials.
Get your following off social media. If you don’t own Instagram, Facebook or TikTok, you could lose that audience at a moment’s notice. Spend time and energy getting those people to give you their email addresses and understand email marketing.
Finally, here is some advice from Hamish Carter, an Olympic triathlete, that I always keep in mind, “Run your own race. Spend your time and energy on your race and what you can improve on, not on what others are doing and building that self-doubt.”
5. Honour your intuition and inner wisdom
During the holiday season, it’s easy to get caught up in external pressures — whether it’s overcommitting to social events or the stress of doing “more”. It’s crucial to regularly remind yourself that “less is more”.
As a natural therapist, you are here to model holistic living and wellbeing. The best way to do that is by practicing it yourself. By setting healthy boundaries, prioritising rest and engaging in soothing, grounding practices, you are creating a balanced, joyful holiday season where you can fully enjoy the magic of the time — and come back stronger for your clients in the new year.
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Kate is Head of Content and Marketing at IICT and has been a prominent voice in the wellness industry for over a decade. Kate’s experience as the editor of two Australian health and wellness magazines offers a wealth of insights into the natural health space, which she now shares with IICT. Kate has extensively studied Yoga, Ayurveda and Massage Therapy. When she’s not working, you’ll find Kate treasuring moments with her son, surfing one of Byron Bay’s beautiful breaks or spending time in nature with her family. |