Today we are featuring these three lovely educators and clinicians of Early Parenting Partners, LLC - Joanna Silverman M.Ed, CHHC, Kristen Carhart BS, Marla Rosenbloom MSW
Before Early Parenting Partners, the three of them worked together as educators for a
previous Boston based company called Isis Parenting. Unfortunately Isis Parenting closed down but the three wanted to continue their work as educators and consultants to support families and therefore, Early Parenting Partners was born. They are very proud of the work they do and feel their job is so rewarding because of all the families they are able to support.
As sleep consultants, they provide families with tailored sleep plans to improve their child's sleep from infancy until early school years. Their goal is to form a true partnership with families in order to understand the temperament of the child and the parenting style of each parent. Once they have this established, they are able to develop a plan during the initial consultation that is comfortable, realistic and ultimately successful.
Joanna, Kristen and Marla bring a lot of different skill sets to the table because of their work supporting families either on a clinical level by way of counseling or as educators. But what sets them apart from a lot of other pediatric sleep consultants is their understanding of child development and all of their extensive experience working with young children and families. There is so much to consider when addressing sleep challenges, but not having a strong understanding of a child's developmental needs or knowledge of sleep science can impact the success of any well intentioned plan. All of the plans they create consider a hybrid of child development, sleep science and parenting philosophies and styles - that is the secret to their success!
Their greatest achievement as consultants is all of their success stories. It is so hard to be a parent of a young child and often you are given conflicting advice, whether it is from well intention family or friends, social media, books, or baby apps. Parents are relieved when they speak to the Early Parenting Partner team because they really listen to each family’s needs. Each consult is spent educating the family and providing advice that is manageable and effective. "There is nothing more rewarding than hearing client success stories and making a difference in their lives".
When asked what they see as the biggest mistake parents often make when attempting to resolve sleep issues, they responded by saying, one of the biggest mistakes a lot of families make is starting to work on sleep during the middle of the night. Starting a sleep plan in the middle of the night is the worst time to introduce a new approach. All sleep plans should start at bedtime when you have sleep pressure on your side. If a child cannot put themselves to sleep independently in the beginning of the night, it is that much harder for them to put themselves to sleep in the middle of the night when they have had a stretch of sleep.
The second biggest mistake is not being consistent or consistently doing something that doesn’t produce positive change. Consistency is the biggest indicator of success with any plan. If you change your approach (which is tempting to do in the middle of the night when you are exhausted) it is like taking an eraser to your entire plan which requires double the effort to get back on track.
Their goal for this year is to begin offering more online group support so families can connect with one another. Through the classes they offer in the Boston area to mothers of infants, they have learned the benefit of building a community. Parenting can be very isolating at times, and having other people share their triumphs and struggles can lessen the isolation and provide true support at a very important time of transition.
When asked to share some tips for a child's better sleeping, they all agreed that providing specific tips is challenging because there are so many factors that need to be considered when looking at sleep challenges. "The tips we would suggest to a parent of a three month old are significantly different than what we would suggest to a parent of a 6 month old. As children get older, things change and their expectations changes. Schedule, age, and development are the base all of all sleep plans". However, their recommendation for the perfect sleeping environment is consistent regardless of age. They suggest parents check their child’s sleep environment is perfect for sleep: cool, dark, quiet and safe. To support the sleeping environment, they recommend using black out shades and if any lights are used during the night that the color be either red or amber. In addition, the use of a white noise machine as sleep protector is essential to help prevent night wake ups, especially during the second and third part of the night (typically between 12-wake time).
Furthermore, they disclosed that they are a company that not only offers sleep support to families but they also guide them through other aspects of early parenting. Many of their clients come to them for sleep support when their child is an infant and continue to work with them as their child gets older for either behavior, toileting or 
picky eating support and education. The partnership they form in each consult ensures parents to feel comfortable reaching out to them for guidance during other challenges they may face along the parenting journey.
For more information about Joanna Silverman M.Ed, CHHC, Kristen Carhart BS, Marla Rosenbloom MSW and Early Parenting Partners LLC, please visit their website at http://earlyparentingpartners.com/ call at 888.573.3277 or email them at [email protected]
