The Top 10 Sleep Mistakes Parents Make

Keep an eye on your little one throughout the day، and chances are you'll see a pattern develop around when they need to nap and go to bed each night. If you can't see those signals، West suggests going to a quiet، dimly lit room and engaging in a gentle activity when you think sleep time is approaching—you just might see the signs start to appear.

If you're in a situation with an overtired and overstimulated little one، says Faure، remove them from the stimulation and take them to a quiet space and invest a little more time than you usually would in settling them into a drowsy state.

Creating Sleep Crutches

We get it—when it's 3 a.m. and you're utterly exhausted، you'll do pretty much anything to get your newborn back to sleep. This usually includes rocking، nursing، walking، swinging، singing، rubbing their back، etc. According to West، as your baby gets past 3 or 4 months، these simple habits become sleep crutches.

"These are not negative or bad behaviors، but they become a problem—or a crutch—when they're so closely linked in the child's mind with slumber that [they] cannot drift off without them،" she says.

This means that each and every time your baby wakes up—and we all wake up several times throughout the night—they will need you to rock، nurse، swing، or sing them back to sleep. So although you can engage in these activities، you shouldn't let your child fall completely asleep to them.

The key is to put your child to bed drowsy، but awake (preferably starting between six to eight weeks for healthy، full-term babies) so that they'll learn to self-soothe and get back to sleep each time they wake up.

Switching From Crib to Big-Kid Bed Too Soon

"This is a classic mistake parents make،" says Faure، who advises not transitioning to a big kid bed until your toddler attempts to climb out of their crib on their own and are at risk of hurting themselves. Until then، "a crib's sides provide a very useful barrier at a time when your baby cannot understand or obey verbal boundaries (such as 'Stay in your bed')،" she adds.