Who are we?

 My name is Tash Duffin, Occupational Therapist working in infant and toddler sleep, wife and mother to 3 little ones. 

I started working in infant sleep as a way to combine three of my passions: helping people, science and babies.

My passion has always been helping people, I’ve been an Occupational Therapist for 15-years. I truly love making a positive difference to people lives. I know, from first hand experience, the difference quality sleep makes for the entire family. I have certainly found that maternal mental health is better, the parent-child bond strengthened and marital stress is reduced. What an honor and privilege to help people strengthen relationships and thrive as parents, spouses, friends and employees.

I became interested in helping families, with young children with sleep, when I learnt that there was a science behind infant sleep. All the books I had read up to that point didn’t really sit right with my critical, science brain, that, through 19 years of study and OT practice, had become second nature. Having a rationale for nap schedules and lengths, a reason why a baby might routinely wake early in the morning or resist bedtime… I was hooked… and wanted to share my knowledge with as many people as I could, to help their families get better sleep.

As for the third passion, babies.. no explanation required. Helping babies (or toddlers) achieve quality sleep, , helps them reach their full potential and be well rested, content little humans… Bliss. 

 Sleep guidance is so much more than a settling strategy. Being an Occupational Therapist, I take a holistic view of sleep to ensure your little one has the optimal conditions to achieve great sleep. This means I consider the sleep environment, your parenting philosophy, nutrition, overall health, any possible underlying physiological causes for poor sleep, sleep associations, family situation, cultural context and your goals.

Sleep is an important occupation in and of itself. Getting enough sleep also enables each family member to fulfil their other occupational roles, such as caregiver, partner, friend or employee to the best of their ability. 

It is my firm belief that, beyond the early newborn phase, every person in the family unit has the right to quality, restorative sleep, to maximise their occupational performance. Families do not need to struggle with chronic sleep deprivation. There should be no guilt around wanting better sleep for your family.

Parents need quality sleep in order to fulfil their multitude of occupational roles to the best of their abilities. Quality sleep should not be viewed as a luxury, rather a necessity to allow parents to be the best parent (and partner/employee/friend/family member) that they can be.

Babies and children need quality sleep in order to promote normal, healthy development. Setting up good sleep practices and teaching your child to sleep is teaching an important life skill, which will reap benefits for many years to come.

  I wish to empower as many families as I can, through education and support, to enjoy their babies. It breaks my heart when I hear of families who won’t consider another baby because their little one has slept very poorly from birth, and they are absolutely exhausted. They may have been to an array of health professionals, who have told them that “things will improve” or “it’s normal”.. or they may have struggled in silence. I want to help these families enjoy every minute of the baby years, for it is fleeting and precious.

In the newborn phase I wish to impart as much knowledge as I can to new families, to inspire confidence to negotiate this huge life transition. I want to free parents from the worries of “am I doing the right thing?” in relation to sleep, from day one and beyond. 

For those families that struggle with inconsistent sleep past the newborn phase, I wish to help them determine why sleep is so difficult for their little one. There are a number of physiological reasons that can predispose little ones to sleep poorly. I wish to be a part of a multidisciplinary team for those families, to unravel the underlying causes and improve sleep. 

I wish to remove the stigma, guilt and feelings of failure associated with asking for help with sleep, and help families and communities reframe and prioritise the importance of sleep. My hope is that all families who are struggling with their little ones sleep reach out and seek help from a professional, just as they would consult a dentist if their child had a problem with their teeth, or a teacher if their child was struggling with learning to read. Sleep is just as important to health as teeth, both for the child and parent. Learning to sleep well is just as important to development as learning to read.