Child sleep expert Leanne Wilkinson offers parents a range of sensory play activities before bed to help your child establish routines and feel ready for sleep at bedtime!
Many thanks to all the parents who attended our pilot Connect for Parents child sleep workshop with Leanne Wilkinson of Little Dreams Consulting in June 2025.
A range of topics were addressed by Leanne during the workshop, including sleep routines for your child, sleep habits, good sleep foods, strategies for self soothing, and the importance of sleep for adults and children. Leanne also addressed how establishing sleep routines can differ for neurodivergent children. For example, your neurodivergent child might need high energy activities before bed!
A child’s sleep is so important. It can impact the family as a whole, too. Parents attending the child sleep workshop shared numerous common concerns, mostly centred around getting children to sleep and helping them to remain so until morning. As a parent, you’ve no doubt experienced ‘heavy shopping bags under the eyes’ syndrome when your own sleep is affected by your child not staying asleep or waking several times during the night.
Leanne generously offered free ten-minute consultations for all parents who attended, and there were plenty of takeaways to help parents take action, including a fact sleep of sleep foods, a self soothing activities worksheet for children, and a range of relaxing bedtime stretches and exercises.
Sleep props and strategies – if it works, it works.
There are so many sleep props and strategies out there. Leanne said that when it came to sleep props like nightlights, white noise or sleep music, it’s fine to keep using them if they work for your child, they don’t concern you as a parent, and they aren’t impacting family life. Leanne reassured parents that if a strategy like co-sleeping was working for yourself and your child, then there was no need to ask if it was right or wrong, only whether it worked or not. As Leanne pointed out, it’s only if something becomes a problem that we need to address it as an issue.
Leanne also pointed out that when we change our approaches, such as changing sleep props, we might get disruptive nights. For example, if your child goes to sleep with the light on, you can simply leave it on. If you turn it off and they wake to complete darkness, that will be an unsettling change they will need to adjust to. It’s perfectly acceptable to leave the light on if it works in helping your child get to sleep!
9 Sensory play activities before bed
Traditionally we are told that children (and adults too) should aim to become calm and quiet before bedtime. However, some children – particularly neurodivergent ones – benefit from sensory activities that will look more like a great way to start the day than end it to the casual observer! A neurodivergent child’s nervous system can get overwhelmed from the day’s sensory input. Sensory play activities providing calming and organising sensory input can help them regulate their nervous systems and find a calm and balanced state. Sensory activities before bed that involve deep pressure or movement can be especially helpful.
Leanne Wilkinson has provided a downloadable PDF of sensory activities to try with your child before bedtime. It could help them sleep like a superhero!
Further support for parents
If you or someone you know is struggling with family relationships, Beacon Family Services can help. We provide a range of therapies and resources to support parents, children and families including our Connect For Kids Theraplay® group and parent workshops on a variety of topics, as well as access to peer support groups.
For further support, and to see our latest parent events and services, please visit the Families hub.
You can also explore our resources for instant support, including newsletters, online support groups, and much more. You can also read further insights and tips from qualified therapists and professionals on our blog.
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We provide training to use our resources with families and in schools. We partner with professionals, commissioners and organisations to provide in person and online support for families, professional development and training and support and supervision.
Leanne Wilkinson is an Accredited Baby and Child Sleep Consultant.
As a devoted mum to a toddler, a supportive stepmum to a teenager, and an experienced primary school teacher for over 20 years, Leanne has spent her career understanding children of all ages and the families who support them.
Throughout her teaching career, Leanne saw firsthand how a lack of sleep affected children’s learning, behaviour, and relationships. This sparked her deep interest in the science of sleep. Then, in 2020, after welcoming her son, sleep became an even bigger focus. Like many new parents, she found herself navigating endless questions—Is he getting enough daytime sleep? What are the right awake windows? How do I help him sleep independently? These experiences reinforced her passion for understanding and improving children’s sleep. After a successful teaching career, Leanne joined the Little Dreams franchise team to support families across Birmingham in building better sleep routines. Her background in child development gives her a unique perspective on sleep challenges at every stage, from newborns to older children.
Leanne is known for her calm, caring, and approachable nature. She strives to make parents feel supported and at ease while helping them achieve the restful nights they deserve.
For more information about Leanne Wilkinson, visit her website Little Dreams Consulting Birmingham, or follow her on Instagram or Facebook.