Camping out: what is it?

Babies and children need sleep to grow and develop well. Good sleep is also important for their health and immunity.

But babies and toddlers can have trouble settling to sleep by themselves.

Camping out is when you stay in your child’s bedroom to help them settle at the beginning of the night. You gradually move further away from your child and cut back on how much help you give.

The idea behind camping out is to help older babies and toddlers move away from needing you to feed, pat or cuddle them to sleep or to keep them company while they fall asleep.

Camping out can help with sleep and settling problems in older babies and toddlers. It can also help with older children who are having problems getting to sleep, particularly if they feel anxious or frightened.

Working on baby sleep with a qualified child health professional can increase your chances of success with any child and baby sleep strategy. You could think about getting this kind of support before you begin using the camping out technique.

Steps for camping out

Before you put your child into bed, make sure that they’re fed, well and comfortable. Then put your child into bed and follow these steps to help them settle using camping out:

1. Place a bed, mattress or chair next to where your child sleeps.
2. Lie or sit next to your child, and pat or stroke them off to sleep.
3. When your child is asleep, you can leave the room.
4. When your child is used to falling asleep like this (usually 3 nights), start reducing how much you pat or touch your child until they can fall asleep without patting or touching.
5. When your child is used to falling asleep without patting (usually another 3 nights), move your bed, mattress or chair a short distance away from where your child sleeps (30-40 cm). Stay in the bed, mattress or chair until your child falls asleep.
6. Move your bed, mattress or chair gradually towards the doorway and out of your child’s room. This could take 1-3 weeks.
7. If your child wakes overnight, return to the bed, mattress or chair, at the step you’re up to. Stay there until your child goes back to sleep.

You might find it works better for both you and your child to modify these steps. For example, you might want to include more patting or longer periods between steps.

Tips for camping out

Here are tips to help camping out go well:

• Talk quietly and soothingly if you need to reassure your child. For example, gently say, ‘Shh, it’s sleep time‘. This means it’s time for sitting or lying quietly, not playing or talking. Let your child know that you’re staying until they’re asleep.
• Avoid making eye contact so your child knows it’s not playtime. You could even close your eyes and say you’re going to sleep while you’re sitting or lying and patting your baby.
• Try to keep things quiet and dim in the bedroom. Avoid music, stories, singing and bright light.
• Try to do the same things in the same way each time you settle your child. For example, keep the level of light in the room the same each night. It can also help to start using a bedtime routine.
• If your child is waking frequently overnight, try sleeping on a mattress on the floor of their room. You can quickly respond to your child with your voice, which means you might not need to get up to them.

Crying and camping out: what to do

Most babies and toddlers cry while they’re getting used to a new way of going to sleep. That’s because babies and toddlers like their usual way of getting to sleep and might be upset by change.

With camping out, for example, your child will probably cry when you move the chair out of the room. Your child might also cry when they wake up overnight.

Here are practical things you can do about crying while you’re doing camping out:

• Listen to your child. If you hear grizzling or whining but not crying, wait and see whether your child settles. You could also call out gently to let them know you’re nearby. For example, ‘I’m here. Time to sleep now’.
• If the grizzling becomes crying, call gently to your child to let them know you’re nearby. If that doesn’t work, go in and pat or stroke your child to help them calm down. If your child is very upset, pick them up and give them a cuddle. When your child is calm, try settling them in bed again.
• Remind yourself that it can take babies and toddlers 1-3 weeks to get used to a different way of going to sleep.

But if things aren’t improving after a few nights or if your child is becoming more upset, it’s a good idea to consult your child and family health nurse or GP. They’ll be able to help you work out an approach suited to your child’s needs.

Will camping out work for us?

Camping out works for some babies and toddlers and their parents, but it doesn’t suit everyone.

Some babies and toddlers just find it harder to settle. Also, there might be times when happy, healthy babies and toddlers find it harder than usual to settle. This can be because of a period of rapid development that means they need more reassurance.

Try not to blame yourself or your child if camping out doesn’t work for you. There are other options you can try to help your child settle.

Your relationship with your child, and your health and wellbeing, are important for your child’s development. A good sleep strategy should improve all of these things, as well as helping your child to settle.