Has Dad Joined the Circus? (Kip’s Guide to Bedtime: Camping Out) by Robert Boddington and Jack Robertson, illustrated by Yoon Park and Matt Hughes

Title: Has Dad Joined the Circus? (Kip’s Guide to Bedtime: Camping Out)

Author: Robert Boddington and Jack Robertson, illustrated by Yoon Park and Matt Hughes

Genre: Fiction

Publisher: Murdoch Children’s Research Institute

Published: 1^st August 2022

Format: Paperback

Pages: 48

Price: $14.99

Synopsis: Help your child fall asleep without mum or dad

Viet’s dad doesn’t stay in the room at bedtime anymore. So where has he gone? The circus? The sea? The moon? Hopefully Kip can help figure it out.

Lots of children find it hard to fall asleep at the start of the night on their own. Mum and Dad often need to be there with them. This might be okay at the start of the night but if a child wakes up many times overnight, it can quickly become exhausting for Mum and Dad. When this is happening, everyone can end up tired and grumpy!

This story helps the child with the evidence-based technique called Camping Out. It is a gentle way to help parents move out of their child’s bedroom – typically over 1-3 weeks – whilst encouraging their child to fall asleep by themselves at the start of the night. This technique is especially suited to children who might be worried or anxious (as opposed to grumpy) if their parent tries to leave the bedroom at the start of the night.

~*~

Viet’s dad has decided that Viet is old enough to fall asleep on his own – so he doesn’t stay in the bedroom anymore. Viet can’t see him and can’t fall asleep without him there – but Kip has other ideas! When Kip appears, he starts a game where he imagines where Viet’s dad has gone. Maybe he has gone to the moon, or out to sea. Maybe he has joined the circus! This Kip story focuses on helping children learn to settle if they have mum or dad in the room until they fall asleep, using an evidence-based technique to help children learn to fall asleep as their parents move out of their bedroom. In this story, Kip encourages Viet to fall asleep alone, because he is okay on his own. Viet may be worried or anxious, but he still knows his dad is nearby, even if he isn’t right next to him.

Kip’s stories are fun and instructional and can be used to help children in a variety of ways. They can build their confidence when it comes to falling asleep alone and teaches them how to calm themselves when they can’t have mum or dad around.             It’s about showing children that they can fall asleep at the beginning of the night and be safe, and illustrates a technique that will help worried or anxious children, using a story to reassure them that falling asleep is safe – and using a story can help reinforce and illustrate how to do this in a relatable way for young children. It highlights common sleep issues that can be linked to mental health and other issues, and this allows younger readers to see what they are going through reflected in stories designed to help them based on good research.

The research of Professor Harriet Hiscock, a leading figure in paediatric sleep studies has inspired this series of books designed to help families navigate a range of sleep issues and challenges, and her scientific insights have been distilled into charming and captivating stories that speak to children on their terms and in ways that they can understand, so they can learn about proper sleep and empathy. This story tackles children struggling to go to sleep without mum or dad – and this book can help families navigate the challenges around kids who can’t go to sleep without mum or dad in the room, and how this can affect everyone. It allows children to imagine what their parents might be doing but also reminds them that they are safe and once mum or dad is no longer in the room with them, it is safe to fall asleep when the night begins.