Sleepy Magic

Sleepy Magic

'Sleepy Magic is a twinkling little gem. It is a beautiful bonding night-time ritual for my daughters and me. The stories we make up together become more magical and more exciting every time we do it. But Sleepy Magic has given them much more than that; it has introduced them to their inner voice and the realisation that strength, gentleness and happiness comes from within. What an incredible gift to give to every little child."
Mary, mother of three daughters aged 6, 7 and 9.

'To control 8 boys in one room for a sleepover with no movie or games is hard enough. To put them all to sleep at the same time is 'magic". What really impressed me was the deep sleep all the boys went into. Gold."
Mark, father of one son, aged 9.

Do you feel exhausted at the thought of the negotiations, the bribes, the threats and the tension all associated with trying to get your children to bed?

Do you want to become more connected with your children, strengthen your relationship and send them off to sleep calmly and peacefully?

Are you searching for a way to give your child(ren) a strong sense of well-being, confidence and self-worth?

And very importantly, do you want to reclaim your evenings?

Sleepy Magic can show you how
This beautiful hardback book is perfect for children aged between 3 and 10. Sleepy Magic is a simple step-by-step night-time sleep ritual that combines:
meditation,
affirmations,
imagination, and
an essential breathing technique.

It calms your child, creating a loving and safe place for connection. It teaches them that the richness of life radiates from the inside out.

Sleepy Magic will give you tools to help your kids become calm, connected and conscious children.

In 2012 the pressure and guilt of juggling being a good mother, wife and business owner became too much. Danielle Wright left her hectic advertising business of 12 years because something shifted in her. She knew she wanted more, much more from her life. She realised she was the only one who could do something about it. Through her own transformation, Sleepy Magic was born and her relationship with her sons began to deepen. It has become an integral part of her family life and she has joyfully witnessed the profound positive impact it has had on her children's self-worth. And now she wants to share her secret. It's a kind of magic that anyone can create.

Sleepy Magic

Feather Bound Publishing
Author: Danielle Wright
ISBN: 9780994180407
RRP: $29.95

Interview with Danielle Wright

Question: What inspired Sleepy Magic?

Danielle Wright: The inspiration for Sleepy Magic came from my two boys and a period in my life when I thought I had my mid-life crisis! A few years back my life looked like a pretty little picture from the outside. However, I was secretly drowning on the inside. The pressure of being a perfect business owner, wife, mom became too much. I was numbing out, overly stressed, suffering panic attacks, and I was manifesting a lot of negative events in my life. It was affecting all areas and people around me especially the ones I loved the most, my husband, and my boys. I knew deep down that if I did change that I would end up getting ill, so I made a conscious decision to work through my sh*t. I knew there had to be another way, an easy more fulfilling way, and I knew it was my responsibility of how I wanted to show up in the world. I did a lot of self-work, self-realization and healing through a Kinesiologist named Deborah Beers. In that growing and healing process, I learned new techniques such as meditation, affirmations, setting intentions, and breathing exercise that changed how I looked at life and more importantly myself.

Then one inspired night, I did a guided meditation with my eldest son at bedtime. When he asked for it the next night, Sleepy Magic slowly started to take shape. I was amazed at how both my sons embraced the ritual, how our connection started to grow in a deeper way and how it was enhancing their self-worth. I know I am giving them a gift of positive life habits, which will ultimately help them navigate their lives. When they asked me to teach Dad, I knew this was bigger than our family. In our house, the dreaded bedtime has turned into a time, place and space that is much calmer and loving. After seeing the amazing difference it made, I wanted to share it with like-minded parents. So what I thought was my mid-life crisis ended up being my mid-life awakening, the birth of this book and the next chapter in my life.


Question: How has the Sleepy Magic method been tried and tested?

Danielle Wright: While I was writing it, I tested it on a few families with different ages, sexes, sleeping habits and they all came back to me with positive feedback. It's unlike anything out there, and that's why parents and kids love it. I tell parents there isn't a right or wrong way to do it. It's their special ritual, do the bits that resonate, change parts, add parts. Parents know what their kids like so they need to cultivate what works for them. I am getting wonderful feedback from all corners of the world from parents and kids.

Recently, Dr. Kristy Goodwin, a brain and technology researcher and founder of Every Chance to Learn has been using Sleepy Magic with her children. Here what she has to say about it, 'Danielle Wright's book Sleepy Magic has had a profound impact on my 4-year-old son, in a relatively short period of time. After a couple of weeks of sharing some of the rituals in Sleepy Magic I have seen a dramatic increase in his emotional awareness. His feeling 'vocabulary" has grown exponentially and we've had some in-depth discussions about various emotions, following some of the affirmations and meditations.

As a children's technology and brain researcher, I understand how important sleep is for a child's healthy development. I've had the privilege of seeing, first-hand with my own son, how the rituals in Danielle's book have helped my son to not only improve his sleep habits, but they've also had the unexpected benefit of improving his emotional awareness. I highly recommend Danielle's book to parents who are looking for a peaceful and practical solution to improving their children's sleep habits."

She is now using Sleepy Magic as an example in her presentations when speaking about technology and how it's affecting our children's sleep habits in the modern world.


Question: Can you give us a short run-down of the Sleepy Magic method?

Danielle Wright: Sleepy Magic is a simple step-by-step night-time sleep ritual that combines: meditation, affirmations, imagination, and an essential breathing technique. It's perfect for children aged between 3 and 10. However, a friend has been using the breathing technique on her 2-year-old and seeing a difference in preparing her for sleep. I have used the meditation on a friend's son who is 13 years old. It usually takes between 10-20 minutes depending on how elaborate you tell the meditation story. In the book, I have included three stories but once you get the essential repetitive structure of the meditation story, you can adapt the places, objects, people, animals to what your child likes. Dinosaurs, ballet, sports, superheroes, princesses and fairies, absolutely anything your child's heart desires. I have used magical creatures, car races, volcanoes, planes and parachutes, characters like Super Mario and Spiderman, Santa, and even Minecraft. My kids now set challenges and pick obscure objects or scenarios to see if I can come up with another story. I have created over 700 stories, each different, each unique and each very easy. By now I would have thought my boys would be over it, 'been there, done that Mum", however, they ask for Sleepy Magic every night.


Question: How do you feel when you receive positive feedback from the Sleepy Magic method?

Danielle Wright: I feel thrilled and happy each time I hear a great story about how it's changing that dreaded bedtime to a dreamtime for families. I have had a mother cry and hug me after she read it explaining she couldn't wait to try it out on her 5-year-old daughter. Of course, I teared up with her. That was amazing. However, my favourite and most heart felt the moment was when I received some drawings from a 4-year girl who I do not know who has been doing Sleepy Magic with her mum. She drew one of the meditations, The Rainbow Bears Story and one of my house with a Rainbow in it. I have them proudly displayed in my studio and hope to meet the lovely artist in the future. Wow, this is magic to me and reaffirms the profound effect it is having on kids.


Question: Why do you think kids love Sleepy Magic as much as parents?

Danielle Wright: I believe they love it because they feel safe, secure and grounded. Their parents are fully present in the moment and giving them their undivided attention. What kids doesn't crave this? This book is not only about getting your kids to fall asleep more easily, it's also about teaching your children techniques to assist them remain calm, create balance, develop confidence and self love.

Kids love that their parents are creating a place that is calm, positive and special. Stopping for 10-20 minutes from our extremely busy, plugged-in lives with a ritual gives families space and time to plug into one another. I think another big factor is that kids like repetitiveness and routine and that is one of the secret ingredients in Sleepy Magic.

Here is what some of my Sleepy Magic kids are saying,
'I love Sleepy Magic because it makes me feel calm, and it is very, very peaceful to get to sleep." Charlotte, age 5

'It was a fun way of getting to sleep. It made me feel relaxed and calmed, and grateful at the end. My favourite part is the story about being a great person." Mac, age 13

'Sleepy Magic makes me feel good and sleepy." Evan, age 9

'I like the head holding and breathing thingy because it makes me feel great." Ben, age 5

'Sleepy Magic worked. I felt sleepy and relaxed." Sam, age 10

Interview by Brooke Hunter