By Jenni June Certified Child and Family Sleep Consultant, CLC and mom of 4!

Of all of the detailed recommendations I provide my families for improving the quality of their infant’s sleep habits, health, and safety, the easiest adjustment with instant improvement is the one that surprises them the most: lowering the temperature of the sleep environment and improving air circulation around their child.

“Research has concluded that 68 to 72 degrees Fahrenheit is best for baby.”

I often encounter hesitation from some clients regarding this recommendation due to the common, cultural belief that over-bundling one's baby and keeping the room warm is more beneficial to their health. However, research has concluded that 68 to 72 degrees Fahrenheit is best for baby. In fact, the cooler end of this temperature range is both optimum for the immune system and safest for infants and children.

If the room is too warm, babies struggle to regulate their core body temperatures, and sometimes even their breathing, during sleep. The result is poor quality sleep and elevated risk for SIDS. The sleep hormone, melatonin, elevates in our system when core body temperatures drop. Yes, babies who are sleeping in warmer rooms will eventually crash, due to exhaustion, if you keep them up long enough, but they are still falling asleep without enough of this powerful sleep hormone at sleep onset that allows them to experience the deeper, more restorative stages of sleep. Their sleep will instead be fragmented and light.

“Humans begin to suffer the ramifications of sleep deprivation after only two consecutive nights of poor sleep!”

It only takes two consecutive nights of poor sleep before humans begin to suffer the ramifications of sleep deprivation, such as elevated stress, poor digestion, crankiness, cognitive impairment, and insomnia, to name just a few. These things are not good for anyone, but especially for a developing infant or child under the age of three! Ultimately, if a child is not sleeping well, neither are their caregivers. And there is no arguing that sleep deprivation negatively impacts the ability to be a fully attuned, patient, and attentive parent.

For those who do not have air conditioning (common to many homes in Northern regions of the country), to help regulate the temperature of sleep environments, here are a few tips on how to prevent your little ones from overheating:

 - Use a fan in the room to improve air circulation (just be sure it is not facing and blowing directly on your child).

- Regulate the humidity levels using a cool mist humidifier. This, in combination with a fan, will help cool the room down.

- Dress baby in a single layer, breathable, cotton pajama. If using a swaddle or sleep sack, just a diaper underneath is sufficient in temperatures over 75 degrees Fahrenheit. 

Invest in a breathable mattress! Lullaby Earth, known for their safe, non-toxic crib mattresses, has created a waterproof mattress wrapped in a breathable mattress pad that provides a pocket of air between baby and the mattress, allowing for 360 degree airflow around your child when they sleep. This Breeze Breathable Crib Mattress also helps baby regulate core body temperatures -- dramatically improving sleep quality!

About Jenni June:

Jennifer Metter, founder of Jenni June™ LLC, is a Certified Child and Family Sleep Consultant, specializing in pediatric and adult sleep hygiene; A Certified Lactation Counselor, Host, National
speaker, and Mom of 4!

With thousands of successful sleep cases under her belt since 2011, she is a valuable resource for everyday and celebrity parents all over the country, including Guiliana and Bill Rancic for the Style Network! And, she is the sleep training expert on The Doctors TV show! She is a practitioner member of the National Sleep Foundation and collaborative health care provider as a certified sleep coach for infants, children and adults for the Breathe Institute, and the go-to sleep trainer for LA’s top pediatricians!

Jenni is also a popular national speaker and guest on CBS, FOX, NBC news and the host of series, “Baby Care with Jenni June” and the resident sleep expert for the BabyLeague and FamiLeague Networks.

If you were to ask Jenni why she has joyfully dedicated her entire life to building up and equipping families (including her own, who are now all grown!), she will tell you, “Because the hand that rocks the cradle is the hand that rules the world.” She is gifted in encouraging new parents to raise the standard of their significance.

Whether you read bedtime stories to your newborn or started a story routine in the toddler years, a good book for bed is a lovely tradition. We’ve put together a recommendation of our favorite children’s books that are great for bedtime at all ages.

Bedtime Stories For Babies & Young Toddlers

These storybooks are specifically written for the younger crowd, but you should expect them to stick around for years as favorites well into the school age years.

Goodnight Moon: This book is a classic first bedtime story, with a rhyming structure that’s easy to follow and might even bring up some of your child’s first words or sentences.

Caitlin H. says: “I used to nanny a little boy with autism, and he loved this book. He used to ‘read’ along with me and loved to whisper ‘hush!’ with the story. And he knew it all by heart and loved to read it back to me.”

The Going to Bed Book: You can’t go wrong with Sandra Boynton’s children’s books, they all make excellent bedtime stories. This story specifically helps kids wind down and get ready for bed with a nightly routine.

Melissa M. says: “This book is my kids’ favorite, especially when their dad was deployed because they pretended they were on a boat too.”

Bedtime Stories For Toddlers & Preschoolers

Written for ages 2-3 and up, these books are great for small children with a little more attention span for stories.

I Love You, Stinky Face: There’s a whole series of Stinky Face books, and they are kid favorites! In this story, a child at bedtime learns about unconditional love as his mother promises to love him even if he had a stinky face (and other afflictions).

Kat B. says: “We’ve read this book since birth.”

Misty W. adds, “We LOVE this one!”

I’ll See You In The Morning: This classic board book is about a mother saying goodnight to her son and makes an excellent quick bedtime story for toddlers and up.

Tracy T. says: “We’ve read it to our son nightly since he was born and he calls it the Night Night Book. The cover is torn off - it’s a well-loved book. I am going to buy a new copy to put in his baby box.”  

Goodnight, Goodnight, Construction Site: This bedtime story is perfect for kids who love trucks. It’s a construction site twist on the classic bedtime routine that will help your little one wind down.

Sarah S. says: “My son is truck obsessed and loves seeing the different construction vehicles. Both kids love that one of the trucks sleeps with a teddy bear, and my boy loves to tell each truck goodnight.”

Little Blue Truck: A fun story about a little blue truck and its farm animal friends helping others out of trouble is sure to delight your young reader time and time again.

Sara M. says: “This book has been a runaway favorite in our house since 18 months.”

Llama Llama Red Pajama: A reassuring story to remind your little one that even when mama leaves the room at bedtime, she’s not far away.

Jacklyn M. says: “My son loves the Llama Llama books. He’s almost six and still wants to read them.”

Bedtime Stories For School Age Kids

These books are written for older children who can start to handle chapter books and longer stories.

Pete the Cat and the Bedtime Blues: All of the Pete the Cat books are great fun for kids. This one specifically deals with winding down for bed, so it’s a great nighttime story book for kids.

Hilary T. says: “We still read every night with our six-year old son. We do more chapter books but he also listens to our four-year-old’s stories. He really likes the Pete the Cat books.”

The Gruffalo: The Gruffalo is a fun story that’s not just for bedtime! It’s about a mouse finding his way through the forest and meeting a monster - but there’s definitely a happy, non-scary ending.

Tracy T. says: “The Gruffalo is a favorite! There’s also a short 30 minute film version available on Netflix. So good.”

The Book With No Pictures: This book is lots of fun and includes silly words throughout, making it a loved favorite among kids everywhere. In a book with no pictures, you have to read whatever it says!

Terra J. says, “We love this book!”

Tell Us Your Favorites

Did you find a new book to read at bedtime from this list? Share your favorite bedtime story with us in the comments below.  

Worried about baby’s safe sleep in the summer heat? We are too! It’s why we partnered with CJ First Candle to create this infographic that tells you how to keep your little one safer when it’s warm outside.

In a month that’s all about dad, we celebrate all kinds of fatherhood! Good dads deserve our respect because they’re helping raise the next generation of happy, healthy kids who will grow up and make big changes. Lots of people imagine dads going to work and supporting the family financially, but there’s also a growing number (an estimated 1.75 million in the US) of dads who stay home and support the family in less typical but no less important ways. We reached out to talk to at-home dad Ryan. R, who takes care of his kids at home each and every day.

Ryan is 38 years old and has a degree in Video Production and Recording Audio Engineering, but his career path was varied with all sorts of jobs over the years, most not even related to his degree. When he told his wife he wanted to stay home with their first child, Ryan had an excellent job with great benefits, good pay, the works!

He says, “It wasn’t like I was in a job I hated and couldn’t wait to get out of - I left a good job to take care of my boys.”

We asked about when, how, and why Ryan and his wife decided he would be a stay-at-home dad. Ryan said that when his wife was about five months pregnant with their first baby (L, now three and a half), “we realized daycare was going to cost almost as much as our mortgage payment. We could have afforded it with our income at the time, but we were planning on more kids later. After a second child, the cost of daycare just wouldn’t be worth it.”

Ryan’s own father was a temporary stay-at-home dad while recovering from an injury and unable to work, and Ryan always appreciated that time with his dad. It wasn’t something strange or outside of a gender role to him, it was just normal - a parent taking care of his children. Ryan says, “I’ve always liked the idea of staying at home. I have a ton of respect for all stay-at-home parents, mom or dad.”

At-home parents are subject to flack from friends and family, since “mommy wars” and mom guilt are ubiquitous. A mom who works is seen as selfish (hardly!), while a mom who stays home is seen as decadently not doing anything all day (seriously?). Both of these stereotypes and assumptions are dead wrong, and stay-at-home dads are subject to some of the same issues.

Ryan remembers, “We went to our baby shower and I was talking to her uncle. When I told him I was going to stay home with the baby, he laughed. He thought I was joking.” Ryan also says that he got just as much negative feedback from women as he did from men. “It’s not seen as a ‘manly’ job.”

After a brief chat about how raising your kids is about the most fatherly thing a dad could do, and how that could possibly be seen as unmanly, we chatted about stay-at-home dad challenges and the best parts of being an at-home parent.

The conversation about people’s expectations and stereotypes continued into our chat about the challenges Ryan faces on a regular basis. He says, “The world expects women to be stay-at-home parents. It’s understood that it’s what a mother is supposed to do. I get a lot of comments like ‘When are you going to go back to work and give your wife a chance to stay home with the kids?’ that assume she wants to stay home and my role is at work.”

We talked about the isolation that is so prevalent among stay-at-home parents regardless of gender. “I absolutely feel isolated. The only thing I miss about having a job is the adult interaction with somebody who doesn’t care about the wheels on the bus.” He’s joined a stay-at-home dad group on Facebook but hasn’t had luck with in-person meetups.

“When I take the kids to the park, the moms don’t talk to me. The moms usher their kids away from mine because it’s ‘weird’ for me to be there.” He even tried to join local stay-at-home parent groups, but hit a wall there too. “I’d be okay if I could get into a parent group, but nobody would take me because I’m a dad. I reached out to 20 groups in the area, and they all wouldn’t take dads.” When we asked if he had thought about starting his own group focused on dads he said, “I’ve thought about it, but I’m a little busy!”

He struck up a weekly game night with some friends and now he has an outlet where he can get out and interact socially without having to be in dad-mode. He says, “It’s as important for the parents to socialize as it is for the kids.” Time alone with his wife is important too, and Ryan makes sure to get a date night on the books at least once or twice a month. He spoke a lot about how much he values his wife’s support.

“She’s 100% supportive of whatever I want to do. When I said I wanted to stay home, she said OK. She’s always right there on board.”

He says it’s hard sometimes because “when [L] sees me all day, he gets a little tired of me and he wants mommy. But other times he hugs me and says ‘You’re a good daddy, daddy’ or tells me he loves me.”

Discussing the best parts of being a stay-at-home dad, Ryan says, “When you’re working with them on something - letters and numbers, walking, anything - when they start to get it and do it on their own, it’s really rewarding. It’s something they’ll know or do for the rest of their life, and they learned it from you. It’s amazing. It’s awesome.”

Speaking of teaching the kids new things, we asked if Ryan planned on homeschooling in the future. “Absolutely not,” he says, “I’d like to say that I’d do it right but I don’t think I’m the homeschooling type.” He is, however, very attracted to the idea of staying home to manage the house while the boys are at school. “The longer I stay at home, the more I like the idea of being the PTA dad, the house-husband, the community dad. I want to be there when they get home from school and be there for their activities.”

In closing, Ryan had this to say about staying home to care for his children as a stay-at-home dad: “It’s the hardest job I’ve ever had. But it’s also the most rewarding job I’ve ever had.”

Thank you for chatting with us and talking about your experiences as a stay-at-home dad, Ryan! We appreciate all your hard work.

Potty training your toddler might seem like an overwhelming and daunting task. And we won’t sugar coat it - sometimes it DOES get overwhelming! But these potty training hacks will help you get through it a little more easily. Read our 12 potty training hacks and feel free to share your own when you’re done.

1. Remove the Pants: If you can strip your toddler naked from the waist down, this tends to work best, especially for kids who don’t realize they need to go until it’s time to go. The trick here is that they’ll immediately realize the connection between the potty and a major cleanup on aisle three (and hence an interruption of whatever they were doing). This plan works best for parents with patience and willingness to accept the risks of pantsless potty training. But many parents swear by this method!

2. Use the Potty Backwards:This one is great for boys and girls who get easily distracted or haven’t mastered the art of aiming. By using the small training potty - or even the big toilet - facing the “back” of the potty, you have a designated catch zone that means they won’t be leaking out the front of the potty and making a mess everywhere else in the bathroom

3. Set a Timer: Set a timer (on your phone, on the microwave, or use a special potty timer) for every 30-45 minutes and have your child sit on the potty whenever the timer goes off. If they go, celebrate and praise them with your reward of choice (be it a special high five, a sticker, a treat, or anything else). If they don’t, go back to playtime and try again next time the timer goes off.

4. Use an App: There are a variety of apps available for your smartphone or tablet to make potty training easier. Some are designed to entertain or educate the kids about the potty, while others are useful tools for mom or dad to keep track of timing and progress. Check out The New Potty - Little Critter (for $1.99 on the Apple App Store for iPad and iPhone) and Potty Training Kids Learning With Animals (free on the Apple App Store for iPad and iPhone). For Android devices, try Daniel Tiger’s Stop & Go Potty ($2.99).

5. Select 2-3 Designated Potty Books: Keep some books for entertainment in the bathroom while pottying, but don’t switch them out to keep your child interested. This isn’t about reading, it’s about you-know-what. Keep a library of two to three designated potty books. As the books get a little boring and predictable, the bathroom will become more about doing their business and getting back to the fun stuff.

6. Sing a Song: Make up (or borrow from your child’s favorite show or book) a song about potty training to make each trip to the potty entertaining and add a sense of ritual. This could be as simple as singing “wipe, flush, and wash your hands” to a favorite tune or making up new lyrics to the tune of a popular song.

7. Use a Disposable Changing Pad: This one is a great life hack for potty training. Use a disposable changing pad or even a puppy training pad to place in your child’s car seat or anywhere else you need to avoid a mess when you’re not sure if you’ll have trouble making it to a bathroom on the go.

8. Use Incontinence Pads or Pantiliners: It’s one thing to rinse out and wash an accidental leak, but cleaning up an accidental poo should be avoided at all costs. Place a small pantiliner or incontinence pad in your child’s undies for easier cleanup of #2 accidents.

9. Pack the Sticky Notes: This hack is for public toilets with automatic flushing mechanisms. A sudden flush before your child is ready can scare them and set you back in the potty training process. Savvy parents keep a pack of sticky notes in their arsenal to place one over the sensor on an automatic toilet. No flushing until you’re ready!

10. Mark the Point of No Return: Use decorative tape to mark the “do not pass” zone for toilet paper. Kids are still figuring out how much they need, so set the mark at a few squares’ length so they can get used to appropriate toilet paper usage.

11. Designate Kids-Only Toilet Paper: Giving your child their own roll of toilet paper is a small hack that makes a big difference. They’ll be so excited to have a sense of control since parents aren’t allowed to use this roll and might be extra excited to use the potty for their special toilet paper.

12. Make a To-Go Bag: Sure, keeping your kid pantsless at home is easiest, but when you need a trip to the grocery store or have to leave the house for a playdate, you’ll need to be prepared. Pack your training pants, underwear, sticky notes, a potty book, and anything else you need.

There you have it - 12 hacks for potty training to make things easier on you AND your little one. Potty training is hard work, so every little thing helps until you find the trick that works best for your family. Of course, we also recommend a waterproof pad for your child’s crib or toddler mattress, like the Breeze Breathable Crib Mattress Pad, which maximizes airflow for a more comfortable sleep and has a waterproof backing to keep those nighttime accidents from becoming a nightmare.

If you're still not sure if your child is ready to potty train read on for 5 Signs Your Child Is Ready To Potty Train.

By Jenni June Certified Child and Family Sleep Consultant, CLC and Mom of 4!

If you lack an additional bedroom in your home for baby, or want to keep in line with the recent safe-sleep and SIDS prevention guidelines from the AAP, you are probably thinking great sleep and/or sleep training won’t work for you and your baby if you are both in the same room. Think again! It’s completely possible.

The most notable upgrade to this well-regarded list of SIDS prevention and safe-sleep recommendations is the call to "room share" (not bed share) with baby at least until they're 6 months old (but optimally until 12 months old).

I was flooded with calls from panic-stricken sleep consultants and families alike about this edict the moment it was handed down. “Jenni, how can we sleep train, or sleep well, while still following these newest guidelines?”

Easy! Here’s how:

#1- Place baby’s crib inside your room as far away as you can from your bed (and ideally from your bedroom door). Be sure there is nothing in the crib but a firm, breathable mattress and a tight-fitting crib sheet. No bumpers, no stuffed animals, blankets, pillows, or positioners -- these are all potential suffocation hazards!

#2- Make sure the room is dark enough during sleep time so that baby cannot see you, since your presence may be stimulating to them. Many babies who have not yet learned healthy independent sleep skills, and thus still associate parents with how they get to sleep, or back to sleep (as they connect from one sleep cycle to the next throughout the night), will yield quicker and easier to sleep with correct sleep hygiene in place when the shiny carrot of mom and dad (their old sleep crutch) isn’t dangling in front of them. It’s the equivalent of parking a recovering alcoholic in front of a tavern during happy hour otherwise.

If you are in the initial stages of sleep training, you may use a folding screen or room divider. When doing so, be sure to have a video monitor in place so that you can clearly see your child, even in the dark. You must be able to see them, but they shouldn't see you!

#3- Use healthy, ambient white noise in the room during sleep. Buy a proper white noise machine with ambient sound, or use an inexpensive fan, placed on the other side of the room and facing away from your child. This will help condition the stimulating sounds that might arouse your child all the way awake during their lighter, more active stages of sleep, such as mumbling, talking and moving around in bed.

Babies and non-verbal children do the same in these active stages of sleep. Except, they will have fussing or crying sounds and moving around in the crib, sometimes even sitting up or standing. But they, just like us, have no idea they’re doing it. They are actively moving about, but still technically asleep. These periods within our sleep cycles may last from 1-5 minutes. Adult sleep cycles are 90 minutes long, while babies are about 50 minutes or so. As a result, we are constantly fragmenting each other’s sleep throughout the night. So, invest in proper white noise.

#4- If you have chosen to sleep train (teach independent sleep skills and provide proper sleep hygiene), this sleep environment will work with any behavioral "method" you choose for your child. If using an integrative approach, the only difference is that your engagement is from your bed to crib, rather than your bed to the crib in a separate room.

Your perfect consistency in providing a simple and clear message for your child as you support them in discovering that they can both fall asleep, and connect from one sleep cycle to the next, even faster and better than you can do it for them, is all that is needed from here! Sleep health and safety for all!

About Jenni June:

Jennifer Metter, founder of Jenni June™ LLC, is a Certified Child and Family Sleep Consultant, specializing in pediatric and adult sleep hygiene; A Certified Lactation Counselor, Host, National
speaker, and Mom of 4!

With thousands of successful sleep cases under her belt since 2011, she is a valuable resource for everyday and celebrity parents all over the country, including Guiliana and Bill Rancic for the Style Network! And, she is the sleep training expert on The Doctors TV show! She is a practitioner member of the National Sleep Foundation and collaborative health care provider as a certified sleep coach for infants, children and adults for the Breathe Institute, and the go-to sleep trainer for LA’s top pediatricians!

Jenni is also a popular national speaker and guest on CBS, FOX, NBC news and the host of series, “Baby Care with Jenni June” and the resident sleep expert for the BabyLeague and FamiLeague Networks.

If you were to ask Jenni why she has joyfully dedicated her entire life to building up and equipping families (including her own, who are now all grown!), she will tell you, “Because the hand that rocks the cradle is the hand that rules the world.” She is gifted in encouraging new parents to raise the standard of their significance.