Kayla | Certified Pediatric Sleep & Development Practitioner

What if we stopped expecting little ones to fit so neatly into the lives of the grown-ups caring for them?
To sleep alone before they’re ready.
To stop needing us when we’re tired.
To make bedtime quick and easy.
To eat when it’s convenient.
To move on from the things that bring them comfort.
To have big feelings quietly, quickly, and without disrupting the day.

What if we stopped seeing their needs as things to manage, their emotions as things to hurry through, and their dependence on us as something they should be growing out of as quickly as possible?
Because it was never meant to be convenient.

It’s messy. It’s unpredictable. And it asks so much of us.

Sometimes it means sitting beside a little one long after we thought bedtime would be over. Sometimes it means another cuddle when we have a hundred things left to do. Sometimes it means changing our plans, slowing our pace, and putting aside what we thought the day would look like to meet the little person in front of us.

And yes, it can be exhausting. Our needs matter, too. We deserve support, rest, and moments too.

But perhaps the answer isn’t always to teach our children to need less of us. But instead for us to ask ourselvesl why we’ve come to expect so much independence from people who are still learning what it means to be in this world.

They won’t be little forever. One day, the arms reaching for us will reach a little less. The little feet following us from room to room will find their own places to go. The bedtime cuddles we sometimes wish were shorter will become memories we would give anything to step back into for just a moment.

So maybe we don’t have to make every part of childhood easier, quieter, or more convenient.
But instead make a little more room for childhood to be what it is. 🤍