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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She seems like such a lovely person to meet, and it would have been an absolute honour to pick her brains. I’ll definitely be looking into getting that book, a few more tips can’t hurt. Thanks for hosting #KCACOLS
Wow! Lucky you for getting a chance to meet Jo Frost in person, I love her too, been following her advice about naughty steps and bedtime routine. I also have the same problem with you during bedtime, it’s either they kept coming back to our bed before they finally settle or at middle of the night too, and same as what Jo said I kept putting them back and it work. I have no sleepless nights now apart from when kids are unwell. It makes a massive difference. Lovely post! #KCACOLS
What a lovely day you had! I think that routine is perfect. It has pretty much always worked with mine and as well as the routine helping with sleep it also means you read with your child regularly which I also think is really important.I hope the tips about Bella work – I am sure they will 🙂 #KCACOLS
My eldest is just started taking interest in the books I read her before bed, I love this time with her. Reading a book makes our bedtime routine much more relaxing, and I love books so it’s a perfect excuse to go out book shopping!
Great post 🙂
#KCACOLS
Sounds like a great day with lots of handy tips! I had exactly the same fears as you about my girls waking each other up, but it’s funny because it’s very rarely happens. You’ll be amazed at what they can sleep through! I always try and start bath time at 6 so that they can be in bed for 7 or 7.30pm. Thanks for hosting #KCACOLS x
While I have heard of Jo Frost and her supernanny series I haven’t watched it or anythig else of hers. She seems like a fairly nice lady with experience and results to show for it! I’m glad you got some tactics to try to get a better nights kip hope it will work out for you! #KCACOLS
I have to admit I’ve never been successful at implementing a routine with Piglet. It just doesn’t suit me as each day is different. Some days I don’t get home from work until 7 and then have dinner etc, so I can’t get Piglet into bed that early. Also he has never been interested in sleeping early, AND he sleeps in my bed. Jo Frost would not like me! #KCACOLS
Sounds like you had a fantastic day. I heard about this campaign the other day whilst watching Loose Women- Jo was on discussing it. I’m totally all for it because I know it works. I’ve had the bath, book & bed routine every single day since my daughter was born and she’s never had a problem with sleeping. Hope everything goes well when you try out Jo’s advice! Xx #KCACOLS
I was really excited to read your post as Arthur always gets into our bed by midnight (he’s only 16 months though) and i expect this to continue for some time! I loved watching Jo on the TV before I had a child too. I have to be honest and say I am really torn. Since becoming a mum, I’ve gone for a more gentle approach to parenting and follow Sarah Ockwell Smith’s “gentle parenting” book and advice. She stops you feeling like this is a problem that needs to be solved and tries to explain the needs of your child. At the moment I feel happier with this approach but this may change as Arthur gets older and we have more children. I am tired all the time though from lack of sleep, but Arthur has never slept so I’ve sort of accepted it for now. Good luck with Bella! Xx #KCACOLS
Sounds like a really interesting opportunity to meet her! I’m pretty sure she would think my parenting approach pretty dismal. My son still shares a bed with me but for now it’s working for us. I don’t do a bath every night but lots of books which he loves! #KCACOLS
It’s lovely to know that Jo is as nice and down to earth in ‘real life’ as she is on TV. Bath, book and bed has been an important element of our parenting when our kids were younger. There’s something magical about that wind down time before bed when you spend time together reading. We loved the Julia DOnaldson books. We knew Tiddler so well we could do it without looking at the words and Emily had her parts to say and I had mine…It was so cute that I wish I had recorded it and sent it to Julia! Hope you get the sleeping sorted. #KCACOLs
I absolutely agree withthis routine! It works, although we’re not always as good at the timekeeping side… Sometimes an extra half hour can pass by with stories, but it’s always on our terms, not theirs. I think you have to make that judgement call on your own kids, as long as you are the one making the call, not them!
Thanks for sharing this – really interesting to hear your thoughts, and Jo’s! Will look out for the book. #KCACOLS
We did this before it was a thing! Having a routine, with clear signposts that show it’s time for bed was something that Tracy Hogg suggested back in the day and we went for it. Sharing a book with the Tubblet was lovely 🙂
Totally agree with this routine and it’s one that we have always followed. I’ve started the bath, story, bedtime routine with my little girl a month ago at three months old – obviously she doesn’t have a clue but I’m hoping it will become ingrained in her that once she goes in the bath it means bedtime and hopefully it will become something she enjoys. She is a brilliant sleeper – not sure if I can credit it to the routine but it can’t hurt! Good luck when you decide to implement SuperNanny’s tips – looking forward to hearing how you get on #KCACOLS X
This is such a great campaign! love the idea, and will be implementing some of these ideas at home. I have to admit Laney and my son both went through phases where they would come sleep in our bedroom. My son would bring his bedding and sleep on my floor some nights, our daughter would climb into our bed. At the time it drove myself and my Hubby nuts. Especially with our daughter who did it way too often! But, now I look at my teen, who would prefer to interact as little as possible with his parents, and my Bug and I miss those nights, not all of them, but maybe just once now and again. Good luck solving you issues, I remember how frustrating it was, but don’t be surprised if down the road you miss those snuggles on occasion! #KCACOLS
What an exciting opportunity! Thanks for sharing. I just recently wrote a blog post about how important it is for children to have a bedtime routine. I definitely agree and I truly believe that Jo’s advice will have your daughter in her own bed in no time. #KCACOLS
I think this simple concept is a great idea and one that we’ve always tried to stick with since T was a very small baby. So exciting that you got to meet Jo! She’s awesome X #kcacols
My children are no longer toddlers but as a working mom in retail I see all kinds of toddlers running the house. It is amazing but I always felt if it was important enough for my child to know that what I say goes . For example, if I said no to a toy then it stayed no. I did not cave. My children are older but they know when the answer is no-no whining complaining or tantrums will change my mind. Jo is great! #KCACOLS
I hadn’t heard of this campaign either but bath, book and bed is something that we have been doing with our children since they were babies. It’s so important to have that routine, especially with us having so many of them, and also encouraging children to enjoy books is something which is really important to me. Great post, and looks like a great event too! #KCACOLS
What a fab event to be invited to, am slightly envious especially of the goody bag! W is 2 now and we’ve been doing bath, book and bed since he was about 5-6 months old. Looking forward to include our imminent arrival soon too! He LOVES his books now and think the early routine had really helped with his vocabulary etc… Although sleep is still a bit hit and miss! Look forward to hearing how you get on with your daughter’s sleep training: good luck! Xx #KCALOLS
What an amazing event! I love the super nanny programmes – Jo really does speak such sense. It’s so easy to let our toddlers rule us sometimes but we need to remember whose boss! I really hope her advice helps you with Bella, I think I’ll definitely be looking out for her book. xx #KCACOLS
Without trying to sound like a judgemental/perfect mum. Of which I am neither – we have our moments, trust me! … We have always, but always had a good bedtime routine. When we’ve had issues of our little girl screaming to come downstairs a couple of years ago, as hard as it was, we ignored her completely and within 3 nights it WAS sorted, just like Jo says! Consistency and persistence are most definitely the key, I feel! Thanks for hosting #kcacols
I’ve never had a problem with my 2 sharing which they’ve had to do numerous periods of time during our house renovations. I thought they would disturb each other, but actually think they sleep better when they’re in the same room. #KCACOLS
What a wonderful experience and opportunity for you! some great tips thanks for sharing x #KCACOLS
Wonderful and I love that you got to meet someone you so admired. Great advice to take away too. Good luck with putting that in place. Here’s to a whole nights sleep! #KCACOLS