milk | Sleepytime

It can be exhausting when your child refuses to eat.

This week the hot topic of conversation with my friends and clients has been regarding eating (or lack of) amongst our children. There is always great concern about trying to encourage our children to eat more. I work with parents to help their children learn to love sleep, but time and time again I am seeing a link between fussy eaters and poor sleepers.

Two common causes of children not wanting to eat are; too much milk and lack of sleep.

MILK

Milk is a great food source so I am not here to persuade you to stop giving it to your children, but what I want to highlight is how it can impact on lack of appetite.

Imagine you had two large milkshakes a day. How much solid food would you be able to consume during the day after that? My guess is not much. If your child is drinking copious bottles of milk during the day and night, then chances are they are not that interested in much else. Milk is drunk quickly and easily and it makes you feel full for a long time.

With the many families I have worked with, once we reduce or even eliminate the milk during the night, we observed an almost instant increase in appetite during the day. This all depend on the age of the child of course.

Breast-milk or infant formula should be the main source or nutrition for the first 9months of age. After this time, your child should be eating “three meals a day and the frequency of milk feeds is beginning to decline,” Mererilinga (2011). By 12months of age, many babies substitute breast-milk or infant formula with cow’s milk. Regardless of which form or milk your child is offered, by this time solid food becomes more important.

It is important to note that drinking lots of cow’s milk is not necessarily a good thing. “In fact, milk makes it harder for the body to absorb iron and can contribute to iron-deficiency anaemia”. Kid’s Health.

So how much is enough? Well, it is all about balance. It is recommended that toddlers aged between 2-3 years have 1.5 serves of dairy a day. It should come from a variety of food sources, not just milk. Raising Children Network.

If your child is having multiple milk feeds or bottles during the night past 8 months of age, chances are they are not only full during the day, but they are not getting enough sleep.

LACK OF SLEEP

A tired child will not want to eat. As adults, the more tired we are, the more we tend to eat. In my experience, I find the opposite happens for many children. If a child is tried, they do not want to sit there at the table and eat a full meal. It is too much like hard work.

If your child is tired, offering them an early dinner is far more beneficial than stretching them out to their usual set dinnertime. If you do try and delay dinner, chances are you will have a battle on your hands and your child will refuse to eat. Offer an occasional 4:30pm dinner to ensure they have enough energy to eat.

If your child is up multiple times during the night, and certainly if they are still taking milk during the night, I would bet that they are not interested in eating breakfast. You want your child to wake up in the morning feeling refreshed and HUNGRY!!

Case Study

Often too much milk and lack of sleep go hand in hand. Last year I worked with Amelia (15months) who was still taking up to 4 breast-feeds in the night. She never wanted breakfast and she was a picky eater throughout the day. Once we cut out the feeds in the night and she starting sleeping through, Amelia’s appetite increased ten fold. Her parents could not believe in just two nights how hungry Amelia was in the morning and she was eating a huge breakfast.

If your child is a fussy eater, monitor how much milk they are consuming in a 24hour period. Also monitor their sleeping patterns. Below is a guide to the average amount of sleep your child should be having each day.

Age	Hours of Sleep per 24hrs
Newborn – 3 months	16-18 hrs
3 months – 6 months	15-16 hrs
6 months – 12 months	14-15 hrs
12 months – 3 years	13-14 hrs
3 years – 5 years	11-13 hrs

Healthy eating and healthy sleeping are crucial to helping your child develop the best way they can. If you are concerned about your child’s food intake, consult a child nutritional professional or your doctor. If you are concerned about your child’s lack of sleep, visit here.

Janelle Jeffery

It is such a momentous time in your child’s life when they become free of nappies and are learning to toilet train. Unfortunately this huge change in your child’s life can really affect sleep.

1. Increased night wake ups

Just like any other developmental milestone, the brain is very active at night making sense of all the new information it has learnt. A very active mind can cause your child to wake up more frequently. If your child could sleep independently before toilet training began, then they can during and after – as long as you are consistent with your approach. You may need to attend to your child more frequently during the night, but once you know they are fine, then leave them to fall asleep on their own without your help.

2. Toilet requests at bedtime

Always include a trip to the toilet before a nap and before bedtime in your standard sleep time routine. For a while your child may call out and request a visit to the toilet. This can be difficult for parents as it can feel like a stalling technique. I am sure your child will eventually realise it can be used as one so your judgement here is crucial. If you have had 3 visits to the toilet with no success, then ignore any other requests past that point. You may have a few accidents in bed, but that is part of the joy of toilet training.

3. Requests during the night

So your child is now waking up during the night to go to the toilet. This again is part of the process of learning those toileting cues. Yes you may have a few months of getting up during the night, but again, once your child has been to the toilet, leave them alone to fall asleep independently.

4. Milk at bedtime

If you are still including a bottle or cup of milk during the bedtime routine, I urge you to cut this out of the routine once toilet training has commenced. This will reduce the midnight visits to the toilet.

A child learning how to use the toilet can be a fast or slow process. Not all children are the same so the more relaxed and chilled out you are about it, the better it will be all round. Yes your child’s sleep will be disturbed for a while, but if you are consistent with your approach and you continue to encourage independent sleeping habits, the easier it will be for everyone.

Janelle Jeffery

Child Sleep Consultant for Sleepyime

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