Sleep Stories by Lexie Scherer

“Children, particularly very young ones, are often subjected to sleep management strategies, but their views on them are rarely considered. Via the innovative methods employed in Sleep Stories we gain a child’s eye view of family sleeping arrangements, and discover that what practitioners advise and parents implement, is a far cry from what children experience, and importantly, what they feel matters. This insightful book will make parents, practitioners and policy-makers rethink what’s important about child sleep and night-time care.”
—Helen L. Ball, Professor of Anthropology, Director, Durham Infancy & Sleep Centre, Durham University, UK and author of How Babies Sleep (2025)

“Our infants and young children HAVE a voice and if we are wise enough to listen, THEY can tell us so much about what they need and the impact of our caregiving practices. Sleep can be a contentious issue for many families, and yet with the insights collected within this book, Dr Scherer paints a powerful picture of the wisdom of listening to our children and meeting them at their point of need. A vital contribution to the infant sleep conversation.”
—Carly Grubb, founder of The Beyond Sleep Training Project, Managing Director for Consumer Advocacy, Little Sparklers.

This book studies perspectives on sleep through mother-child interviews and photo-elicitation with 2-5 year olds. Research participants were recruited from The Beyond Sleep Training Project, a Facebook group of 180,000 members who re-frame children’s sleep aiming to meet children’s nighttime needs. Topics covered include the history of infant sleep and sleep training, family sleep set-ups and routines, and competition amongst mothers discussing sleep offline. The book also outlines the research methodology used for interviewing very young children.

Lexie Scherer is Senior Lecturer in Childhood Studies in the Department of Education, Languages and Linguistics, University of Portsmouth, UK. Her research interests include participative methods, and research around young children‘s sleep. Her previous book, Children, Literacy and Ethnicity (2016), was shortlisted for the Philip Abrams Memorial Prize.