We all know the importance of a good night’s sleep. As adults, if we don’t get proper rest, we are unable to do our work to the best of our ability and in all probability we are in a bad mood the entire day taking out our anger on others. So why should babies be any different? If your baby is otherwise healthy and yet cranky and irritable, there is a possibility that he has not had a good night’s sleep.

Believe it or not, the same holds for school going kids. For a child to be attentive in class it is important that he has had sleep for at least eight to nine hours. Most doctors would tell you the same thing — that for humans to realise our potential we need those many hours of sleep. But hoe does a country that stands at No 2 when it comes to being sleep deprived, get a good night sleep?

It is something that we need to inculcate in our kids from the time they were babies. Kerry Bajaj’s book Sleep, Baby, Sleep gives you a sneak peek into how one can ensure that your baby is tugged away in bed at 8 pm and sleeps till 8 am without much fretting. What is interesting about this book is that it takes you step by step on how parents whose babies and kids are not getting as much sleep and keep parents up till late into the night can actually put them to sleep so that the next morning their kid is fresh and ready to tackle the day with a smile.

A smile that is so important to us. If our child is cranky, the parents are worried and harassed. It also means that until the child is old enough to be left on nannies, parents have almost zero social life because the child would not let the parents be.

The language used here is simple so that parents can follow the advise that has been to a T. The sentences are not too long and hence easy to remember.

The book tells you that in order for your child to have a good night sleep, it is important to creat a spa-like environment. Just live adults instantly relax the minute they enter a spa — with its dim lights, sweet smell and soft music, the same way parents need to create that environment during nap time.

It also advises parents that it is them who decides when and where the baby will sleep and not the baby. Once the parents have set a time and space for the baby to sleep, it is important to stick to it and shuffle the baby around.

Routine matters and parents needs to stick to it is the mantra to a baby’s good night sleep.