Baby and Toddler Sleep and Settling 

The biggest challenge facing new parents is coping with broken sleep, night after night. Difficulties with your baby’s sleep and settling are common. It is worth remembering that the sleepless nights don’t last. Around one third of babies experience a disrupted sleeping pattern, but it is only a problem if you feel that the family can’t cope with the disruption. The good news is, help is available.

Fact Sheets

A suite of sleep and settling fact sheets have been developed to provide information and support to parents, caregivers and service providers. These will support consistent and evidence-informed approaches to sleep and settling information sessions. Sleep and Settling Simple English Fact Sheets and Community Languages Fact Sheets have also been developed below.

• Fact Sheet 1 – Newborns – 3 months (typical sleep behaviour)
• Fact Sheet 2 – Babies 3 – 6 months (typical sleep behaviour)
• Fact Sheet 3 – Babies 6 – 12 months (typical sleep behaviour)
• Fact Sheet 4 – Toddlers 1 – 2 years (typical sleep behaviour)
• Fact Sheet 5 – Toddlers 2-3 years (typical sleep behaviour)
• Fact Sheet 6 – Preschoolers 3 – 5 years (typical sleep behaviour
• Fact Sheet 7 – Babies 0 – 6 months (positive sleep patterns)
• Fact Sheet 8 – Babies 6 – 12 months (positive sleep patterns)
• Fact Sheet 9 – Toddlers 1 – 3 years (positive sleep patterns)
• Fact Sheet 10 – Preschoolers 3 – 5 years (positive sleep patterns)
• Fact Sheet 11 – Babies  – 12 months (solutions to sleep concerns)
• Fact Sheet 12 – Toddlers 1-3 years (solutions to sleep concerns
• Fact Sheet 13 – Preschoolers 3-5 years (solutions to sleep concerns
• Fact Sheet 14 – Support for parents and caregivers

The fact sheets can also be found on the Better Health Channel Sleep and Settling page Information included in the fact sheets is also available on the Maternal and Child Health (MCH) App.

Sleep and Settling in Community Languages

Fourteen fact sheets have been developed on typical sleep behavior, preventing sleep concerns and solutions to sleep concerns for families with children from birth to school age in the following community languages.

• Arabic (العَرَبِيَّة)
• Burmese (မြန်မာစာ)
• Dari (درى)
• Khmer (ភាសាខ្មែរ)
• Persian (فارسی)
• Punjabi (ਪੰਜਾਬੀ)
• Simplified Chinese (简化字)
• Spanish (Español)
• Vietnamese (Tiếng Việt)

Sleep and Settling Fact Sheets (Simple English)

• Fact Sheet 1 – Newborns – 3 months (typical sleep behaviour) Simple English
• Fact Sheet 2 – Babies 3 – 6 months (typical sleep behaviour) Simple English
• Fact Sheet 3 – Babies 6 – 12 months (typical sleep behaviour) Simple English
• Fact Sheet 4 – Toddlers 1 – 2 years (typical sleep behaviour) Simple English
• Fact Sheet 5 – Toddlers 2-3 years (typical sleep behaviour) Simple English
• Fact Sheet 6 – Preschoolers 3 – 5 years (typical sleep behaviour Simple English
• Fact Sheet 7 – Babies 0 – 6 months (positive sleep patterns) Simple English
• Fact Sheet 8 – Babies 6 – 12 months (positive sleep patterns) Simple English
• Fact Sheet 9 – Toddlers 1 – 3 years (positive sleep patterns) Simple English
• Fact Sheet 10 – Preschoolers 3 – 5 years (positive sleep patterns) Simple English
• Fact Sheet 11 – Babies  – 12 months (solutions to sleep concerns) Simple English
• Fact Sheet 12 – Toddlers 1-3 years (solutions to sleep concerns Simple English
• Fact Sheet 13 – Preschoolers 3-5 years (solutions to sleep concerns Simple English
• Fact Sheet 14 – Support for parents and caregivers Simple English

Maternal & Child Health Workforce Training Program

The Victorian Government made a significant investment to provide additional support for families through the broader 2018 election commitment, More Help for New Mums and Dads. As part of this initiative a Sleep and Settling Model of Care has been developed. The Sleep and Settling Model of Care is intended to be implemented across three different platforms:

• parent information sessions
• outreach consultations
• the 24 hour Maternal and Child Health Line

Upcoming face-to-face workshop training

After completion of the Sleep and Settling online course, the MCH workforce and their teams will be invited to participate in a 6 hour face-to-face workshop. It is anticipated that the workshop training will commence in April 2021, subject to the COVID-19 pandemic and the impact on the MCH workforce. Further announcements will be made here shortly.

Further information

Are you part of the Victorian MCH Workforce and want to know more information about the Sleep and Settling training program? Please email your questions to sleepandsettling@tweddle.org.au

Tweddle acknowledges the support of the Victorian Government.