Is Your Program a Sleep Consultant School Scam?
5 Red Flags You Should NEVER Ignore
If you’re checking out online baby sleep consultant programs, you may be wondering which ones are legit — especially if the program sounds suspiciously inexpensive. Unfortunately, chances are you will run into more than one sleep consultant school scam during your search.
How do you know whether that “deal” on tuition is bogus? You’re in luck: through years of research, I’ve pinpointed the 5 BIGGEST red flags. I’ve ranked them from #5 to #1 – and be sure to read that first one because it’s HUGE.
Read on for the scoop.
Online Sleep Consultant School Scam RED Flags
Here are the top five red flags that should make you run — before you waste your precious time and money:
Red Flag #5: The School is Too New
You need a great school in order to become a certified baby sleep consultant. And while you may be tempted to give that “new” online school a try, you don’t want to waste your money and your time on a program that isn’t tried-and-true.
Scroll to the bottom of the program’s main page to find out the publication date of the page. If the date doesn’t show up, check the school’s credentials (for instance, if it is an LLC) and the dates.
If you can’t find this information at the bottom of the page, Google the school for online mentions. A pediatric sleep consulting program should show a number of search results.
Red Flag #4: The Program Has a Low Social Presence
Again: no legitimate school requires extensive searching to find out the details. Your program of choice should have a consistent name/name prefix on social media, such as:
- A complete, easy-to-navigate website
The school should also have:
- An email address with the suffix (@) as the school name (i.e. @ipsp.com)
- A phone number
- The name of an individual to call (usually the program director)
Fly-by-night schools won’t usually bother to create this many avenues to check on them. If they do have social media handles, these will usually be profiles with little or no content (such as a Facebook page with only a post or two, or with just pictures). If they have not developed their presence, they may be a sleep consultant school scam.
Red Flag #3: The Program is Very Short
By this I mean either short in time (such as a four-week program) or limited in the number of classes you need to take.
In order to become a legitimately certified sleep consultant, you will need somewhere around 180 hours of instruction. And that won’t just be filling in the hours, either. What classes does the program offer? Is it a complete program? Or do the classes sound vague or repetitive?
Just as important is whether the program is willing to give you this information. If they won’t give you specifics, you are probably looking at a sleep consultant school scam.
Red Flag #2: The Program is Very Expensive – or Very Cheap
Both of these two extremes are big red flags.
In fact, my successful students who started out with sleep consultant school scams instead, listed “it was so inexpensive, it seemed too good to be true” as a major motivator.
Remember that saying: If it seems too good to be true, it probably is. Most reputable certified infant sleep consultant schools charge between $3000 and $5000 in tuition for a complete program.
Also beware of very expensive schools. You should not have to spend more than $5000 in tuition in order to get your initial certification. Additional certifications in other areas of childcare are a different matter; make sure to check how much those will cost as well.
Red Flag #1: There Are No Instructors
I promised you the BIGGEST red flag that you’re looking at a sleep consultant school scam. Now here it is: the program does not have instructors.
That may sound strange. After all, doesn’t every class have to have an instructor?
Many scams are run by just another sleep consultant who has no additional qualifications or other teachers to instruct the program. Make sure you investigate the background of the instructors and which classes they teach before signing up for any program.
At legitimate schools like IPSP: yes. (Reputable schools will have a number of instructors in their faculty and all will be credentialed.)
But scam schools I have investigated tend to be a collection of bits and pieces of information rather than a comprehensive program. Sadly (not to mention illegally), these are usually plagiarized or downright stolen from programs the individuals took. I’ve had a few attempts at “schools” (typically former students) attempting to publish IPSP lessons and even the entire program as their own! 😳 So be sure you do your research before you invest in a program that may be shut down in the near future.
Check out the instructors, which classes they teach, and how the courses will be made available to you.
Avoid Sleep Consultant School Scams!
Still wondering whether that program is a sleep consultant school scam? CALL the school and ask about the instructors. Who you will be learning from is SO important and will determine your success. Ask how to access real reviews from former students. The more easily the school is reached and the more information they have, the better your chances of picking the perfect school to get you going on your future career.
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