Welcome to episode three of my special four-part Heidi at Home series, in partnership with CBeebies BeddyByes.

Monsters under the bed. Suddenly being scared of the dark. Not wanting you to leave. Waking in the night after a bad dream.

As children’s imaginations develop, bedtime can sometimes become the moment when all sorts of worries and fears suddenly appear.

And when your child is genuinely frightened, telling them “there’s nothing to be scared of” doesn’t always help.

In this episode, I’m talking about night-time fears, anxiety, nightmares and night terrors, what’s going on for children when night suddenly feels scary, and how we can help them feel safe without accidentally making the fear bigger.

We cover:

• Why fears can suddenly appear as children get older and their imagination develops
• How to validate the feeling of fear without confirming that there really is something dangerous
• Why worries and experiences from the daytime often show up at bedtime
• The difference between nightmares and night terrors
• What to do if your child experiences a night terror
• Why trying to wake or reason with a child during a night terror often isn’t helpful
• Practical ways to support a child who is becoming anxious about bedtime
• Why talking about worries during the daytime can be easier than tackling everything at bedtime
• How predictable routines, transitional objects and connection can help children feel safer
• Why things like checking repeatedly for monsters can sometimes reinforce the idea that there really might be something there

One of the biggest things I want parents to take from this episode is that the goal isn’t for our children to never feel frightened.

Fear is a normal human emotion. What we can help them learn is:

“I can feel scared and still be safe.”

We also talk about why calming and mindfulness skills are much easier for children to access if they’ve experienced them before they're in the middle of a frightened or dysregulated moment.

That’s where CBeebies BeddyByes fits so naturally into this conversation. Its slower, mindful approach gives children opportunities to experience things like slowing down, noticing their bodies and moving towards calm in an everyday, low-pressure way.

Because 2am, when your child is convinced there is something underneath their bed, probably isn't the ideal moment to introduce deep breathing for the very first time!

If night-time has suddenly become a source of worry in your house, or you're not quite sure whether what you're seeing is a nightmare or a night terror, this episode is for you.

Find CBeebies BeddyByes

You can watch CBeebies BeddyByes on CBeebies and BBC iPlayer.

Follow @beddybyesofficial on YouTube, Instagram and TikTok.

And you can find more episodes of Heidi at Home on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

This series shares general parenting guidance drawn from child development research and my 17 years working with families. It isn't a substitute for individual medical, psychological or educational advice. If you're worried about your child's sleep, anxiety or development, please speak to your GP, health visitor or another qualified professional.

Welcome to episode two of my special four-part Heidi at Home series, in partnership with CBeebies BeddyByes.

One more drink. One more wee. The wrong teddy. Another cuddle. A question they absolutely HAVE to ask you right now. And somehow a story about something that happened three Tuesdays ago…

Why is it that the moment we say goodnight, our children suddenly need us for EVERYTHING?

In this episode, I’m looking at bedtime through the lens of connection and separation, and what might actually be going on underneath all that stalling, silliness and resistance.

Because bedtime is a big transition. We’re asking our children to move from the activity and connection of the day towards sleep, and ultimately to separate from us for the night.

We talk about:

• Why children often seek more connection as bedtime approaches
• What bedtime stalling can actually be communicating
• Why connection doesn’t have to mean endlessly extending bedtime
• The difference between more attention and predictable, meaningful connection
• Simple ways to build connection into the evening without adding another enormous job to your list
• Why the hour or two before bed matters
• How light, noise, activity, screens and even our own energy can affect the transition towards sleep
• How to hold a bedtime boundary while still staying connected
• What happens when we, as parents, become activated at bedtime
• Why responding to your child at night doesn’t mean you’re creating a “bad habit”

I also talk about something I’ve done with my own three children, even as they’ve got bigger: getting into the bath with them.

Warm water, skin-to-skin contact, chatting and laughing together can give us a little pocket of connection at the end of a busy day. Your version might be ten minutes of child-led play, a cuddle on the sofa, a story or simply lying beside them while they tell you about their day.

It doesn’t need to be elaborate. Often, knowing when and how connection is coming is just as important for children as how long it lasts.

We also look at the “runway” towards bedtime and how we can make the gear change from busy to calm feel a little smoother.

If screen time is part of your family’s evening, thinking about the pace of what children are watching can be part of that too. CBeebies BeddyByes uses slower, mindful content to support those gentler transitions, so that it can sit earlier in that wind-down before screens go off and you move into your usual bath, stories, cuddles and bedtime routine.

My question for you after this episode is a simple one:

Does your child know when and how they're going to get connection with you before you ask them to separate for the night?

Sometimes that’s a really useful place to start.

Find CBeebies BeddyByes

You can watch CBeebies BeddyByes on CBeebies and BBC iPlayer.

Follow @beddybyesofficial on:

YouTube: @beddybyesofficial
Instagram: @beddybyesofficial
TikTok: @beddybyesofficial

And you can find more episodes of Heidi at Home on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

This series shares general parenting guidance drawn from child development research and my 17 years working with families. It isn't a substitute for individual medical, psychological or educational advice. If you're worried about your child's sleep, anxiety or development, please speak to your GP, health visitor or another qualified professional.

Paid partnership with CBeebies BeddyByes.

Back to School, Back to Routine: Why Your Child Falls Apart After School

Welcome to the first episode of a special four-part Heidi at Home series, in partnership with CBeebies BeddyByes.

Does your child hold it together beautifully at school or nursery, only to walk through the front door and completely fall apart?

The tears. The shouting. Fighting with siblings. Refusing the simplest request. Suddenly needing you for EVERYTHING.

In this episode, I’m talking about what can really be going on underneath that after-school behaviour, and why it doesn’t necessarily mean something is going wrong.

Starting or returning to school and nursery asks a huge amount of young children. They’re navigating noise, stimulation, instructions, friendships, separation, expectations and far less autonomy than they may have at home. Even when they seem to be coping brilliantly, all of that takes energy.

And sometimes home is simply where it all comes out.

We talk about:

• What after-school restraint collapse can look like
• Why your child may fall apart most with the person they feel safest with
• Why firing questions at them the minute they leave school might not get you very far
• What neurodivergent and highly sensitive children may experience during the school day
• How to create a gentler transition between school and home
• Why predictable routines can help without your afternoon becoming a military operation
• Snacks, movement, quiet time and connection after school
• How to think about screen time during that transition
• When an earlier bedtime might actually help
• What your child may really be communicating through difficult behaviour

I also talk about creating a little “landing strip” between the busy school day and home.

Children are constantly being asked to move from one state to another: school to home, play to dinner, dinner to bath, busy to calm. Small, familiar cues can make those transitions easier.

That’s one of the reasons I’ve loved working with CBeebies BeddyByes on this series. Its gentle pacing and mindful approach have been designed to support little ones as they move towards calmer moments in their day. If screen time is part of your family’s afternoon, it can be one of those familiar transition points alongside food, movement, connection and downtime.

My biggest message from this episode? September doesn’t need a perfect routine.

Sometimes the most useful question isn’t “How do I stop this behaviour?” but “What has today asked of my child, and what might they need from me now?”

Find CBeebies BeddyByes

Watch CBeebies BeddyByes on CBeebies and BBC iPlayer, and follow @beddybyesofficial:

YouTube: @beddybyesofficial
Instagram: @beddybyesofficial
TikTok: @beddybyesofficial

And don’t forget to follow Heidi at Home on Apple Podcasts or Spotify so you don’t miss the next episode in the series.

This series shares general parenting guidance drawn from child development research and my 17 years working with families. It isn't a substitute for individual medical, psychological or educational advice. If you're worried about your child's sleep, anxiety or development, please speak to your GP, health visitor or another qualified professional.

Paid partnership with CBeebies BeddyByes.