Charlottesville organization helps families find sleep plan for young children

Our Neighborhood Child Development Center hosts a sleep plan workshop for parents and young children. (Source: WVIR)

By CJ Paschall | January 11, 2020 at 3:44 PM EST – Updated January 11 at 3:44 PM

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (WVIR) – One Charlottesville organization is asking a simple question: are you and your family getting enough sleep?

Our Neighborhood Child Development Center hosted a workshop to help determine the best sleep plan for young children and their parents. They discussed families unique living situations and developed custom plans for families’ individual situations.

“I feel like there’s a lot of pressure on parents to try to meet some ideal or some expectation, when in reality what works for your family is what works for your family,” Our Neighborhood Child Development Center Director Jennifer Slack said. “We want to support families to make adjustments, and experiment, and reflect on their practice.”

The Center says that the best course of action is keeping children on stimulating routines, but predictable ones.

“Our environments tend to be very stimulating but not very sensory engaging,” Slack said. “So we want to think about designing environments for children that engage their deep senses within a routine and habit so it’s not about being boring, but about being predictable.”

The group hosts workshops the second Saturday of every month. They also host “Respectful Parenting Support Group,” on the third Sunday of every month. For more information, visit their website.

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