Recently we were sent a copy of In the Night Garden : The Bedtime Book to review. Like a lot of children Clem has recently become obsessed with In the Night Garden, watching it most nights before bedtime. I must admit that I find it rather odd but she loves it and it keeps her quiet. The idea of the book is simple, it’s designed to make your child fall asleep. Using soft lullaby like language it should relax your child and as each character falls asleep in the story it should encourage your child to also fall asleep. Unfortunately for Clem it was the opposite, because she is a fan of the characters she wanted to see what happened to them all the way through the book. So by the time it came to the end she was in fact quite awake and not very sleepy. We used to struggle at bedtime with her but now have found a routine that works for us which means this book wasn’t a massive help. However I could certainly see how it would help someone who was just starting to establish a night-time routine or was struggling with their current one.
It also includes a great bedtime routine which if you are struggling with your current one you could definitely try the one they suggest. It also has some relaxation tips for your child as well which I think would be great if you were just starting to establish a sleep/bedtime routine. This book is very similar to a previous one we have reviewed except with characters that Clem knows and likes. It’s written by Mandy Gurney who is a sleep consultant. She has been advising on child sleep issues for almost thirty years and is the founder of Millpond Sleep Clinic. She has worked as a nurse, a midwife and a health visitor and sa a mother of two, she knows first-hand how hard sleep deprivation can be.
Overall I was impressed with the book, the story is good. Clem loves the characters, and if we didn’t already have an established bedtime routine then the one in the book is great. The relaxation tips are good and are something I will keep trying to do with Clem.
In the Night Garden : The Bedtime Book is out now.