The Hush Buddy Sleep System creates a healthy routine with its bedtime story about Whisper and reactive nightlight that looks and behaves just like Whisper. By creating a consistent routine that reinforces quiet night times, children get more sleep.
According to the National Sleep Foundation, preschool-aged children need at least 11 hours of sleep each night. During this time, critical brain development takes place. More sleep = greater potential.
Why is it so important to have a good bedtime routine?
It's important because a routine that's consistent leads to the formation of a habit. And that's the holy grail of bedtime-- having your child do as much of it automatically as possible.
Consistency means the same bedtime every night, the same way every night. So anyone who'd involved in that should be reading off the same script. Also, double check if you have devices in the room that turn off automatically because they're battery powered. If they do, the room will be completely different in the middle of the night, and that could drive your toddler to come find you. So a consistent environment is important too.
Why was the Hush Buddy Sleep System created?
I have twins, and bedtime was my job. I thought I did it well, but I was wrong. I never knew what to do when they would cry out for me to stay with them at bedtime, because there was no reason for them to stop-- eventually I'd give in. There was no consequence to that behavior. So when a nephew melted down one night during a family visit, the idea of a reactive nightlight occurred to me. Would it make a difference if you had a nightlight that dimmed briefly to about half power as a visual cue? We built a prototype and the answer was yes! Not only is it a gentle visual feedback to the child, but by making the light a character with a storybook, we harness the child's powerful imagination to help them understand they need to be quiet at bedtime.
Along the way, I was blown away by the amount of sleep science out there that can help parents of the 2 to 4 year old set. I didn't see any of that science built in to other sleep devices. In fact, many of them were actually counterproductive at bedtime, from a sleep science perspective.
The thing that motivates us as we bring Hush Buddy to market is how important sleep is between ages 2 to 4. That's a window during which the brain's pathways are being bolted together as the child sleeps. Studies show a child who doesn't get enough sleep at those ages has poorer cognitive development that result in poor focus, behavior, grades and even physical health for the rest of their lives. So toddler sleep is important!
What can parents do to help their kids reinforce quiet bedtime routines?
Three things.
First, they can simply Google toddler sleep strategies, and disorders. By learning about things like sleep onset association disorder, for example, you can view your child's bedtime a whole new way. Studies show parental education is very effective at helping kids.
Second, they can tighten up their bedtime routine by limiting exercise and screen time before bed, and turning up the consistency of the routine every night.
Finally, they can allow the child to fuss for short periods, during which they'll learn to self soothe. Just say "excuse me I need to do something" and step out for 2 minutes. If they cry, it's hard, but wait that long before going back in briefly. Do that over and over for longer periods to give the child the chance to learn everything's okay, and to self soothe. It's a valuable skill they'll use the rest of their lives. You can do it!
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