Why Is My Child Waking So Often at Night? A Gentle Guide

This is a sponsored article by Bluebell Sleep Consulting, a Southbourne-based sleep consultancy and a 2026 finalist in the Best Small Business category at The UK Small Business Awards.

If your baby or toddler is waking several times during the night, bedtime has become a battle, or you find yourself wondering why everyone else’s child seems to sleep better than yours, you are certainly not alone.

Sleep is one of the most common concerns parents have during the early years. And while social media can sometimes make it seem as though babies should simply “sleep through”, the reality is much more nuanced.

Children’s sleep changes enormously during the first few years of life. Development, temperament, sleep needs, feeding, illness, teething, separation anxiety, changes in routine and the sleep environment can all influence how a child sleeps.

As a certified sleep consultant with a paediatric nursing background, and as a mum myself, I believe the first step towards improving sleep is understanding why a child may be struggling rather than immediately trying to change their behaviour.

Frequent waking does not always mean something is wrong

It is normal for babies and adults to move through different stages and cycles of sleep throughout the night. Brief periods of waking can naturally happen between sleep cycles.

The difficulty often comes when a child needs significant help each time they wake to return to sleep, or when frequent waking begins to affect the wellbeing of the whole family.

Before making changes, I encourage parents to look at the bigger picture:

• Is their child getting the right amount of daytime sleep for their individual needs?
• Is bedtime happening when they are appropriately tired, rather than overtired or under tired?
• Has anything recently changed, such as starting nursery, dropping a nap, illness or a developmental milestone?

Sometimes relatively small adjustments can make a meaningful difference.

Your child’s day can affect their night

One of the things I often remind parents is that bedtime doesn’t really begin at bedtime. What happens throughout the day matters too.

Exposure to natural daylight, particularly earlier in the day, helps support the body’s internal clock. Age-appropriate activity and opportunities to play and move help build healthy sleep pressure.

Daytime naps are important too. Both too much and too little daytime sleep can sometimes make bedtime or overnight sleep more difficult.

For toddlers and preschoolers, nap transitions can be particularly challenging. A child who is beginning to outgrow their nap may sleep beautifully on some days and struggle on others, and a flexible approach usually helps more than a rigid one.

Gentle support, not one-size-fits-all

Every child and every family is different, which is why I do not believe in one-size-fits-all sleep programmes.

My role is to look at each child’s sleep in the context of their development, temperament and family circumstances, and to find realistic, sustainable changes that support better rest while maintaining responsiveness, connection and trust.

When should parents consider asking for help?

You don’t need to wait until you are completely exhausted before asking for support.

Parents often reach out because their child is waking frequently, struggling to settle at bedtime, waking very early in the morning, taking short naps or going through a difficult nap transition. Sometimes parents simply want reassurance that what they are experiencing is developmentally normal.

And if there are concerns that sleep difficulties may be related to pain, breathing, feeding, reflux, allergies or another medical issue, it is important to discuss these with an appropriate healthcare professional rather than treating the problem purely as a sleep issue.

A little about me

I’m Inese Carter, founder of Bluebell Sleep Consulting, based in Southbourne and supporting families with babies, toddlers and young children across Chichester, West Sussex and Hampshire, and online across the UK and worldwide.

I’m a certified sleep consultant with a paediatric nursing background, and I’m also a mum to a toddler. My own interest in children’s sleep became deeply personal after experiencing significant sleep difficulties with my daughter. Having the right support made an enormous difference to our family, and that experience eventually inspired me to support other parents.

My approach is gentle, responsive and evidence based. I don’t use cry-it-out methods, and I don’t believe parents should have to choose between improving sleep and responding to their child.

Whatever stage you’re at, please remember that struggling with your child’s sleep doesn’t mean you’re doing anything wrong. Sometimes a little information, reassurance and personalised support can make the path forward feel much clearer.

Find out more at bluebellsleepconsulting.uk or call 07469 601680.