Welcome to our Mom Around Town Blog series! I will try to post them every other Friday this year if I can. Last time I posted an interview with Deborah Michael of North Shore Pediatric Therapy. This time I’ll be interviewing Kim Schaff of Sleep Training Solutions! Kim is a sleep training specialist and travels to homes all over the Northwest Suburbs of Chicago helping parents get a good night’s sleep as she trains your baby to sleep.
Since many of the business owners I will be interviewing work directly with children and expecting parents, I think it is important to get to know them well. Our Mom Around Town feature will help you do that! Make sure you check out our other Mom Around Town posts!
Name: Kim Schaf
Business Name: Sleep Training Solutions
Website: www.SleepTrainingSolutions.com
Follow them on these social media platforms.
Facebook
Twitter
Pinterest
Year Established: 2011
I was lucky enough to get a quick interview with Kim and she shared a little more about what she does with us! Trust me, sleep is important and you don’t want to miss this!
Erika: What services does your business provide?
Kim: Phone, home and overnight consultations to get babies and toddlers sleeping through the night
Erika: How does your business benefit the families in the Chicago area?
Kim: Sleep is important for health, growth and development, not to mention when parents get enough sleep, everyone is happier!
Erika: How did you get the idea to start your business?
Kim: My youngest was a terrible sleeper – waking up 4 times a night until he was 18 months old. Once I taught him how to sleep, our lives completely changed, and everyone benefited. Now he’s an amazing sleeper and I credit it to how we taught him when he was younger!
Erika: I think I was lucky and had great sleepers but I hear about so many babies and toddlers that could definitely use some help! What did you do before you started your business?
Kim: I have a Masters in Teaching and tutored math for several years. I still see some students now – it’s great to use both sides of my brain during the day 🙂
Erika: How fun! Yes, I like the variety too! I actually was a teacher before I became a stay at mom home and professional photographer too! I still have students that I tutor in many subjects. Can you share one memorable story from an experience you had related to your business?
Kim: I worked with a set of 7 month old twins recently and the mom shared that before sleep training, one of them had always been awake. After sleep training, they were sleeping all night, taking naps at the same time, and she was amazed that she could have that much “free” time with twins 🙂
Erika: As a mom of twins, I can relate that it would make things much easier on the whole family! Do you have children yourself?
Kim: Yes, two boys, ages 6 and 9.
Erika: Feel free to tell us about them.
Kim: They are always outside riding bikes or playing basketball, although this winter has brought a million snow forts to our backyard 🙂
Erika: Yes, I have all boys too and boy are they busy! It is good that they like to play outdoors! I’m sure you encourage them to do that! Snow forts are fun, although this winter I think we all could have done with less snow! Do you have anything you would like to tell us that is new for your business in 2014?
Kim: I’ll hopefully be offering a webinar course on baby and toddler sleep soon!
Erika: Oh that is great! I’m sure you could help more people with your skills and they wouldn’t have to be local! Is there anything else you want to tell us about your business or yourself?
Kim: Remember that while sleep is innate, learning how to fall asleep and stay asleep is a learned behavior. Some babies need a nudge:) Parents don’t have to endure months and months of sleepless nights with their baby or toddler. Around 4-6 months, healthy babies are typically able to sleep through the night and take 1+ hour naps.
Erika: Do you have any tips for the new moms with infants?
Kim: The habits you start early on have a tendency to “Stick” – so be careful about always using the swing or stroller for naps! It’s a great idea to transition them to the crib by about 8 weeks.
Erika: Thank you for those! And something fun, do you have any unusual talents or what is a fun fact about yourself?
Kim: I love to play Mah Jongg – and after taking a class on it several years ago – I’ve taught about 30 women how to play and we have monthly Mah Jongg nights 🙂
Erika: How fun! I’ve never played before but think that is great that you are sharing the fun with others! I’m so glad you were able to do this interview! I think a lot of local moms could benefit from your services and probably do not even know there is help out there! I’m sure Kim, from Sleep Training Solutions, is happy to answer any questions you have about her services. You can reach her HERE on her website, which has many options of information. You can also subscribe to her newsletter which gives you weekly sleep tips!
