Is It Too Late to Sleep Train?

I was asked this question recently and I really wanted to address it. This mom came to me and she was really upset because her child was a little bit older, he's three and a half and she really felt like she missed the boat.

She felt like she never really had opportunities to do sleep training because things were always coming up…the child had gotten sick…they had moved…they had had another baby…and she just never felt like things lined up to be able to make sleep changes for her child. 

So when we hopped on the phone together, one of the first things she asked me was “is it too late to sleep train my child?”

And the answer is no!

It’s Never Too Late

It is never too late to do anything in life, really. I’m going to focus on sleep but this can be applied to other areas of life as well. It's never too late to make any changes that you want regarding sleep or otherwise, if it is something that is important to you. 

It's never too late to learn a new hobby, it's never too late to pack up and move to a place you've always wanted to live, it's never too late to make changes to your current habits to better fit the life that you envision yourself living. 

So no, it is never too late to sleep train.

Sleep Training Will Look Different

Sleep training is going to look a lot different depending on the age of your child, but that doesn't mean that there aren’t things that you can do to help. At three and a half years old, there's a lot more that comes into play when teaching a child how to fall asleep more easily and to not have overnight wakes. 

At this age they now have imagination, they're most likely in a bed and can just get up and walk out, there's more safety concerns, they can respond and understand and talk back. Those are all factors that we need to consider when sleep training older toddlers.

You Have Options

If you have been thinking that it’s too late to sleep train your child, I want you to know that it’s not. Maybe you're feeling hopeless and like it's too late and that your child is just destined to never be a good sleeper because you didn't make those changes when they were younger. 

You do not need to feel hopeless. It's too late - it is never too late!

If you are struggling with a child that is older and not in that “classic baby period” where parents do sleep training, know that it is not too late. 

I personally Work with children up until age four, but there are consultants that work with teenagers, there are consultants that work with adults. So it really is never ever too late to change. add to and assist bedtime routines and overnight strategies to be able to get that nice restorative sleep that everybody wants and needs.

If you know that you want to make changes to your child’s sleep but you're not sure what the next steps are, you can reach out to me. I am more than happy to explain what the process could look like at this age. We can get started right away so you can all get sleep as soon as possible!