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I have to admit—until a few months ago, my 3 year old daughter had been co-sleeping with me since birth. Every single time I would put her in her baby bed/toddler bed she would end up crying within the hour. Then 3 or 4 more times before the morning hit.
I was becoming exhausted and not getting much sleep at all. I’d end up being SO tired all day, and I have 2 kids under 5. I swear I felt like a slug. They would be extremely hyper, running around.. and it was all I could do to keep my eyes open after awhile.
SO you could imagine how amazing it felt when I got a chance to review the Sleep Buddy Sleep System. It is a major help with transitioning from mom’s bed or a baby bed into a big girl/big boy bed. It is a night light for your child to keep them from being scared.
It isn’t a regular night light though, because it has a timer. I can set it so that it turns on during Adisyn’s nap AND night time. The light turns off when it’s ok for your child to get out of their bed after naptime. 
Keeping a sleeping schedule, that you maintain on a daily basis is the most helpful thing. To see more about how a schedule is beneficial you can read about it here.
The Sleep Buddy comes with a book that you can read to them. It tells them what the sleep buddy is and how it works! I thought that was pretty cool.
It also comes with a reward system. At first Adisyn didn’t want to stay in the bed whether the light was on or not. She was getting up and sneaking around. The reward chart is what really made a difference to her. This is set up for weekly (which is how we used it) but you can set it up for daily, weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly. It’s totally up to you and how you feel your child will respond to it the best!
Each animal represents a day, so you can put a smiley face sticker on each animal (or let them) after EACH time that they successfully make it through a nap, night of sleeping in their own bed, or both!
With Adisyn, I felt since she was so young that I would let her stick a smiley on the animal after both a nap and a night of sleeping in her own bed. After the week, she could come with me to the store and pick out a toy, a book, or whatever.
I love that the website gives ideas on what to do (if you’re stuck), or just looking for more inventive ideas!
A few ideas to get you started!
For younger kids (immediate):
- Fun and exciting stickers
- Play a board game with Mom/Dad
- Outside game (kickball, tag, duck-duck-goose)
- A special yet simple craft activity that they don’t typically get to do (play dough, painting, popsicle stick picture frame, etc.)
- Artificial flowers to pick from (put them in a vase and eventually they will have a beautiful bouquet)
- Choose a book from a special book-bin that is filled with unfamiliar “new” library books to read with a parent in a special nook of his/her choosing
- Lolipop/candy from a jar to pick from
- Treasure chest – filled with inexpensive toys/goodies
For older kids (to earn over time):
- Matchbox car
- Trip to the dollar store/Goodwill
- Doll clothes
- Choose the menu for a night
- Pick a game/movie for family night
- Mom bakes something of his/her choice
- New art item
- 30 minutes of computer/video/tv time
- Go to a jumpy place
- Date with Mom/Dad
- Mom/Dad does your chores for a day
- Stay up ½ hour later for a night
- Pack of gum at grocery store
- Extra story at bedtime
- Backrub/scratch from parent
- Choose a fun family outing
- Playdate with a friend
About Sleep Buddy:
As a former teacher and mother of five, I have learned a very important lesson: IF THE KIDS DON’T SLEEP, NOBODY SLEEPS! From early on, I made it a priority to protect my children’s sleep and encourage healthy sleep habits. I did it for their benefit—but also so I could sleep!
Maybe you know the helpless feeling when a child stands bedside thinking the day starts at 2am. When our first child turned two, he refused to stay in his bed at naptime or nighttime. After many sleepless nights and failed attempts to change his behavior, my husband and I developed the SleepBuddy prototype.
Our son immediately “got” what the light meant and was comforted by the soft, bedside glow. With consistent use and positive reinforcement, we were able to instill good sleep habits in our son—our first step toward getting the sleep we all need.
To provide further motivation, I created a rewards chart. Our son loved choosing his rewards, and felt accomplishment and pride with every success. Our second child followed in his footsteps and soon learned the system. I felt that our third child needed her own fun introduction to SleepBuddy. So the book A Bedtime Surprise completed the SleepBuddy system. Our fourth child will soon be learning the system, and we know he will “get it” quickly.
It’s a dream come true to share SleepBuddy with you. I have spent many years developing and enhancing the SleepBuddy system, and it has worked wonders for us. We hope it helps you put sleep issues to bed and starts you on a journey towards peace of mind.
-Laura & the SleepBuddy Family
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Disclosure: This isn’t a sponsored post, products were sent for review purposes only. The opinions in this post are completely honest and not influenced in any way.
Jessica Renee
