So….maybe that title is a little misleading. I’m not suggesting that you can remove yourself from baby’s bedtime routine altogether. Even if you could somehow say to your child, “Alright. It’s almost bedtime. Go have a bath, brush your teeth, get into your PJs, read yourself a story and tuck yourself in. Mommy will be out here watching The Bachelor with a glass of wine if you need me.”

This is a difficult question to answer without getting into some specific details, which is unfortunate, because when parents ask me this, I know they’re looking for a quick, concise, time-based answer. “Three nights from now,” or “Six months old,” are the kind of responses they’re hoping for, and the kind I wish I could give them, but there are a lot of factors to consider, and some things to understand before you can narrow down the timeline. The first thing I feel parents need to understand is this...

If there’s anything that can send your child’s sleep off the rails, if there’s an arch-enemy for sleep training, it is, without a doubt, the dreaded condition of over-tiredness.

Now don’t get me wrong. I’m a firm believer that feeding our kids a healthy, balanced diet is essential to their well-being. I might even agree that it’s the single most important factor when it comes to our children’s health.

But sleep is, if not equally as important, a very big contender.