Lucia Kanocz
Certified International Baby & Child Sleep Consultant
My Story
Hello I’m Lucia, here’s my journey to becoming a sleep consultant.
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My love of working with children started when I was a little girl. During my primary school years, growing up in a small village with a tight-knit community where everyone knew each other, I spent most of my free time after school, during weekends and school holidays (I used to disappear for an entire day or afternoon from home, with my parents’ consent of course), offering my help to busy families looking after their babies, allowing them to get on with their household chores and gardening duties. To this day, when I return to my village for a visit with my own two children, I get stopped by the same parents I helped all those years ago expressing their gratitude and appreciation for my help and support when they needed it most. I would say this was the best part of my childhood, creating such vivid memories that I will treasure forever. In my entire family, from parents to great-grandparents, aunts and godparents, I was surrounded by primary, nursery, secondary school and music teachers, so it’s no surprise that I decided to take the same career path qualifying as a nursery school teacher myself in 1996.
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As much as I love toddlers and older children, I always felt that the role of a nursery school teacher wasn’t as fulfilling for me as I would have liked, and I wasn’t getting full satisfaction out of my job because my true passion was taking care of tiny babies and supporting their parents. It was at this point that I decided to start working as a newborn nanny and was lucky enough to have the amazing opportunity to work alongside very experienced maternity nurses and doulas for a number of years, expanding my knowledge of newborns. I have been working as a professional infant career nanny for the past 20 + years. Most recently I have begun my dream journey of becoming a baby and child sleep consultant.
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After many years of being an expert in the baby field and finding myself giving out sleep advice to hundreds of mum across London that I have met either through working as a nanny or attending baby classes and activities with my own two children, I realised that this specialised area was a career which I would be well suited to and decided to extend my professional skills by becoming certified as a sleep coach/consultant. This role allows me to continue my work with babies which I love so much but also to provide support and guidance to parents by helping them implement healthy sleep habits for their children and educate them about the importance of sleep from a very young age.
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I have great pride in my work and will continue to uphold the highest standards. I feel honoured to have been able to care for babies and help parents throughout my life and look forward to continuing to do so with my enhanced knowledge-base.
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Becoming a mother myself was the best gift and experience I could have had, it has also helped me to see things from the parents’ point of view, affording me greater compassion and understanding of the challenges we all face as parents.
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My hobby and passion became my job and I’m proud to have come such a long way, I can’t possibly imagine what else could fulfil me more and make me so happy. I want parents to have no doubts when choosing me as their baby’s sleep coach.
My Sleep Philosophy
Throughout the years of working with hundreds of families across the globe, I had the opportunity to
see the effects that accumulated lack of sleep can have on families and their physical and mental well-being. Distressed and frustrated parents, doing their best to look after their children having barely slept the previous night, forced to get up early for work the next day after being awake for the most part of the night, babies not thriving in their development, to toddlers throwing endless tantrums due to not getting enough rest - believe me when I say - I have witnessed it all!
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In today’s society and pressure to perform as parents, being judged all the time and trying to balance work with family life, there a misconception which makes parents believe that this is what they have to endure for simply choosing to be parents. Because apparently this is what babies do…they just don’t sleep! I strongly disagree with such mindset. I believe it is very much possible, let alone very important, to teach your children to sleep better and independently. It’s actually in their best interest too! Sleep is not a luxury, it’s a necessity, just like food or water. Without enough sleep parents will struggle to be the loving, nurturing and patient parents that their children need them to be. In fact, scientific evidence shows that sleep deprivation is a number one factor that contributes to post-natal depression. I have worked alongside many mums who have gone through this and it was heartbreaking to see.
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I want you to know that you’re not alone. Parenting doesn’t come with a guide book, we all learn as we go along. I’m not here to judge your parenting style or force you to do anything that you are not comfortable with. I’m simply here to listen, support you and your entire family and act as a guide to point you in the right direction…if you are ready to make a change.
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Experiencing these things first-hand and having studied child psychology as part of my full-time
nursery school teacher training at a boarding school over four-years, has made me realise the
actual extent that lack of sleep can have on our bodies, minds and behaviour as a result. It’s needless to
say that good quality sleep leads to improved health and mood overall – for everyone. Having a gentle yet predictable routine in your and your child’s life is a lifestyle and choice we all have to make for ourselves.
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With a science and evidence based approach as a sleep consultant, I want to share with you my
knowledge and understanding about the importance of sleep. I believe it’s possibly one of the best
gifts you can give to your child in the long-term. By creating healthy sleep habits early on, having a
schedule, all adapted to your own personal beliefs and lifestyle, you can achieve the sleep that all of
us as parents dream of.
If you feel you are ready to take this journey to improved sleep, I would feel honoured to be part of
your transition – all done in "baby steps".
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Your devoted sleep coach,
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Lucia