COMPREHENSION TEST:

Indicate which statement is true:

1. Deciding where your baby will sleep

• is best left to the experts
• should be done according to what your friends and relatives advise
• should be should be done before your baby is born, preferably before you get pregnant
• is a very personal matter

2. The following people must reach consensus on where baby will sleep

• Mum
• Dad
• Baby
• The neighbours

3. Your child will start sleeping through when

• you let her sleep in your bed
• you sleep in her bed
• she is ready to sleep through
• she leaves home

4. The best sleep environment for baby is

• in your bed
• in her own bed
• in a cot next to your bed
• where everyone in the family gets the most sleep
• in the Bahamas

5. Babies should preferably be

• ignored when they cry at night
• sleep trained before they are born
• seen and not heard
• loved to bits, even though they don’t sleep through

6. Your baby may sleep in your bed

• as long as she wants to
• until she moves out of the house
• until you have another baby
• until she has her own baby
• as long as you’re comfortable with it

7. If your relatives criticise your sleeping arrangements, you should

• nod politely and do whatever works for you and your family
• agree with everything they say, and do whatever works for you and your family
• leave your children with them for a weekend
• distract them and eat all their chocolate cake when they’re not looking

8. A co-sleeping mother

• sleeps less than a non-co-sleeping mother
• sleeps more than a non-co-sleeping mother
• breastfeeds more often but gets the same amount of sleep as a non-co-sleeping mother
• will have synchronised sleep cycles with her baby
• don’t know and too tired to care

9. When in the family bed, babies sleep

• parallel to their parents
• across both their parents
• at 90o with their parents
• upside down

10. Memorise the following statements

• My baby will turn out fine, not because of everything I do, but in spite of it.
• No-one is a perfect parent.
• There is no “right” or “wrong” place for my baby to sleep.
• I am doing a good job, even if my baby wakes every hour.

11. Practical assignment

• If your baby is asleep, go into her room very quietly and watch her angelic face
• If your baby is awake, give her a long, sweet kiss and cuddle
• If your partner is awake, give him/her a long, sweet kiss and cuddle

Congratulations! You are now ready to start the next module of Parenting 101!

Written by Erika Neser - www.babysleep.co.za