Is your customer tired of not sleeping?

One of the most difficult aspects of becoming a parent is coping throughout the day without sleeping at night. Here we take a look at some of the solutions…

Published: 13 January, 2010

Babies do not start forming powerful sleep associations until they are three or four months old, so do reassure your customer that sleepless nights are fairly unavoidable in the early weeks and months. This will help to put a new mum’s mind at rest that it is not anything she is doing wrong; that a crying baby is a perfectly normal and happy one! However, it is worth pointing out that making clear distinctions between night and day can help to establish a regular sleeping pattern and a nap and bedtime routine will soon follow.

Ann Douglas, author of Sleep Solutions for Your Baby, Toddler and Preschooler, suggests that parents use baby-soothing strategies to help induce sleep, including sound/vibration, scent, massage, motion, patting and numerous other strategies which can, she says, be highly effective in soothing an overtired or over-stimulated baby to sleep.

There are a variety of products designed to facilitate each of these techniques, from cot mobiles offering visual and audio comfort, to rocking chairs and Moses baskets that simulate the gentle rocking motions used by parents.

Douglas advises keeping the room cool and monitoring temperature, so if you have a range of thermometers and fans start promoting them more heavily throughout the year and if you don’t, think about introducing them.

Though black out blinds may not seem like an obvious choice of product for nursery retailers, in the summer months parents will be finding it increasingly difficult to get their baby or toddler to sleep, due to the sheer amount of sunlight coming into the room. Douglas suggests darkening the room and we would advise stocking a range of ready made blinds as a solution. Customers looking to introduce an afternoon nap will benefit too.

Many parents recognise the importance of establishing a bedtime routine, which often involves dinner, followed by bath and a story. You should take the opportunity here to link sales and increase your customer's spend. Take the time to understand your customer's needs; explain the link between hunger and night time waking; offer bath time products and suggest books and musical toys that might also help soothe baby to sleep.

Be innovative in your buying, seek out products that offer sound/vibration, scent and motion as Douglas suggests, in addition to a range of soft toys and rattles that babies and toddlers will associate with the security of sleep.

Finally, be sure to offer a full selection of comfortable mattresses, blankets and sleep bags that will provide an appropriate level of comfort all year round. If you can help your customers to find ways of overcoming countless sleepless nights, you will have their loyalty in the bag.

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