Hola chicos, on Tuesday I was invited to attend an event that turned out to be one of my biggest highlights since starting blogging almost one year ago. This was because I met Jo Frost, well known as TV’s Supernanny! Yes, that’s right, I met Jo, someone who I have followed for years, watching her TV shows and reading her books because we really found it useful. I even remember once saying to Nick that I would love to be selected to be on her program, LOL.
Bella is now 6 and she wakes up in the middle of the night and walks to my bedroom in the middle of the night and gets herself comfortable between Nick and I. This is something that has been bothering me for months now and I had it in my head for a while when I was on my way to meet Jo. I knew that this would be my opportunity to ask her for some advice.
The event was held at the most beautiful library in St Martins Lane. It was really close to Leicester Square. I really loved the place and all the details that it had around. Very pretty!
When I arrived I was greeted by the lovely people from BookTrust who were organising the event with Tots100. BookTrust, Britain’s largest reading charity, is launching a great campaign #BathBookBed where they are encouraging parents to stick to a simple bedtime routine with a soothing story to help their little ones sleep soundly.
New research conducted by BookTrust, shows that over 78% of parents say that lack of sleep is the hardest aspect of being a new parent. It goes on to say that some mums, dads and carers claim they would pay more than £10,000 to put an end to sleepless nights.
BookTrust has teamed up with Jo, who will be their ambassador for this fantastic campaign. Jo who has been a nanny for more than 20 years said that “Sleep deprivation is the most common complaint I hear from parents of young children. Tired parents and tired children are a recipe for disaster. But the solution doesn’t need to be complicated regimes or expensive gizmos. A routine as simple as bath, book, bed can get young children to settle so that everyone can benefit from a good night’s sleep”
According to Jo, you should start with a fun, warm and enjoyable bath time where your kids get the last opportunity of the day to release all their energy with some bubble time! Then, after being changed they should have story time in a more relaxing atmosphere. The lights should be down and all technology should be turned off. You should always be consistent and keep the same routine every day. If your kids wake up at 7am they should go to bed at 7pm the night before, so you should start your bedtime routine at 6 pm. I thought this was a very interesting tip.
Myself and 9 other bloggers were gathered together in a private room. We were all very excited to meet Jo and share some of our own experiences. We sat down around a table which felt far more comfortable. It was really informal and it was much easier to break the ice and start chatting. Jo is super famous around the world (Even my friends and family in Peru know about her), so I was not sure how she would be in person. I can tell you that she was exactly the same in person as she is on TV which I love because it shows me how real and down to earth she is. She genuinely cares a lot about us parents suffering with our children. I really felt that she was really there to share her 25 years of experience and give us all the advice that she could.
All of us told her a little bit of our stories but I must say that I was very lucky to be able to discuss the issue about Bella leaving her own bed in the night. As soon as she heard my story she said that my problem was one of the most commonly experienced problems and that she is often asked about how to deal with this.
We only have 2 bedrooms at home, so the girls need to share a room but we have been putting this off a little bit because we were always worried that they would wake each other up and would not have a good sleep. When Sienna was born Bella was just starting school and we really wanted her to have a good sleep so we decided to have different sleeping arrangements during the first year. I guess Bella got used to not being in her bedroom and it was difficult to keep her there. My major worry is having to put Bella back to bed and waking up Sienna. I explained this to Jo and this is what she said:
- You can’t let your 6 year old control you
- She knows that you have a big fear as you are worried that the little one (Sienna) will be disturbed
- Your daughter uses that to manipulate you and keeps waking up and moving to your bed
- I should not show this fear to my daughter
- I should make it very clear to her that she should not come to my bed and if she does she will be put back to bed as many times as needed
- If Sienna is disturbed I should not panic. Just finish dealing with Bella and put her back to bed and then sooth Sienna
- I should be persistent and this should be sorted in 3 days
I think the most important lesson was to not show my fear and make it very clear that she won’t gain anything coming back to my bedroom all the time. I still haven’t tried this yet but I will certainly be doing this but I have to be ready to do it as I will need all the possible strength and patience that I could have. I trust Jo, so I know that this will work.
I was really amazed that she took a fair amount of time discussing my story and I’m really grateful for that! We all got a copy of her book which I will certainly start reading soon to pick up even more of her tips. The book is called “Jo Frost’s Toddler Rules”.
We were also given a fantastic goody bag with lots of amazing books to read for the girls! Thank you so much BookTrust, Tots100 and Jo for making the day one of my best days of being a blogger so far! It was an honour to be invited and be part of this amazing event. It was a once in a lifetime experience!
If you want to know more about setting an effective bedtime routine for your children you can sign up to the BookTrust “14 Days to Better Sleep” trial and start enjoying better sleeps!
What do you think of this campaign? Have you heard of it before? Would you like to give this a try? Will you register for the trial? What do you think of Jo’s tips? Do your kids also have sleep problems? Leave a comment below as I would love to read your opinion.
*Disclaimer: I was invited to this event in exchange for a blog post but all thoughts and opinions are my own. Some photos were provided.
Thanks for stopping by,
Love you all ❤
Franca 💋
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I haven’t heard of this campaign before but we have recently changed baby K’s bedtime routine in preparation for potty training, god help me! He usually has a bath and drinks his milk in bed and pretty much falls asleep but we’re now trying to cut out the bedtime bottle, so now it’s bath, book, bed and to be honest it seems to be working well as he can sometimes get hyped up when Mr H is home, this way the last thing he does is calm down and relax while reading a book rather than jumping around with daddy. x #KCACOLS
This sounds like it will be really helpful for loads of mums not just toddlers, Olivia is still a nightmare to get to sleep and she is 10! I love Jo too she is brilliant with her advice and tips xx
I know it’s already happened, but I’m so excited that you got to meet Jo. I watched her programmes a lot before having kids and what she said has stuck with me. I do show fear a bit too much though. I must stop that! Our girls are in the same room and I don’t want the eldest waking up the youngest when she goes to bed. She knows this and plays on it. It’s obvious now it’s pointed out. I’ll be taking some tips from you and Jo tonight! #KCACOLS
We’ve got two out of three!
We’re worried about what it will be like when our daughters share so Jo’s tips will help to prepare.
Glad to hear she was able to listen to you a do offer advice!
#kcacols
*and* not ‘a do’…
Perils of phone typing!
I be honest I am not a fan of Jo’s work. Don’t get me wrong she is nice person or comes across that way but I follow positive parenting.
That said I do believe in a routine in what ever way you do works to help kids know what’s happening X #kcacols
Like you said, sleep with kids is such a difficult subject that often is difficult to accomplish! I’m so happy to hear that you were able to get some helpful tips from the Supernanny to help your 6 year old understand the need to stay in her own bed. I hope that it does help you!
#KCACOLS
Tori
http://www.themamanurse.com
I only recently heard about this campaign and it’s actually the routines I’ve always followed. It works really well for us and the boys are usually quite relaxed by the time they go to bed. I’m also really lucky in that I don’t have to deal with children getting into bed with me. It’s just not something they’ve ever done, to my eternal relief! I hope you manage to get this one sorted. It sounds like you had an incredible day and learnt a lot! #KCACOLS
I have always carried out the bath and bedtime routine since both of mine were babies. It was something my mum had told me about before i had mine. They both are very good sleepers thankfully 🙂 I hope Jo’s tips help you all get a good nights sleep again! #KCACOLS
That sounds like such a fantastic day. I loved everything about ‘supernanny’ until my challenges changed and I now have reasons as to why some of Hayden’s behaviours are this way. I would be very interested to hear what she would advise me! Good luck with your night time challenge! Plenty of coffee!!! #KCACOLS
Sounds like a great experience. I have always had a really strict bath book bed routine with mine since they went into their own rooms. I’mean a bit obsessive about it actually but it really does pay dividends! Hope her advice helps #KCACOLS
Some really greaat tips there on sleeping. As a new mum tips on sleeping are welcomed!
Sounds like it was very useful for you and what a fab opportunity to meet Jo Frost in the flesh too! I hope you manage to tackle the sleep issue with Bella! xx
Looks great! I would have loved to be there – my wife has such a Jo Frost crush! #KCACOLS
Oh wow what an opportunity and it’s so great that Jo spent time discussing your concerns! what a fantastic event! Evie struggles getting to sleep, she prefers to sleep late and wake late but sadly school get’s in the way! #kcacols
We’ve always done bath, book, bed and I do think it helps get my children ready for sleep, it’s like a signal to them that it’s time to start winding down. Some nights they’ll still be awake an hour later though, they share a room and I think they just like that time to chat! x #KCACOLS
It’s like meeting Mary Poppins! 😀 How interesting & glad you got some good advice. We’re considering putting our two in one room and having a play room, but also concerned about how they will affect each other’s sleep! #KCACOLS