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[Sleep habits in children]
N Villó Sirerol1, I Kheiri Amin, T Mora Rodríguez
1Centro de Salud Fronteras. Torrejón de Ardoz. Madrid. España. natachavillo@jazzfree.com
Insights
Many parents use ineffective methods to help their children sleep, leading to frequent night waking. Establishing consistent sleep routines early in infancy is crucial for preventing these common childhood sleep problems.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric sleep medicine.
- Child development and behavior.
Context:
- Sleep disturbances are prevalent in infants and young children, affecting 10-20% of this population.
- Factors contributing to night waking include perinatal issues, family stress, feeding practices, and sleep behaviors.
Purpose:
- To assess the sleep behaviors of young children visiting pediatricians.
- To examine parental routines implemented to facilitate infant sleep.
Summary:
- Most parents engage in activities like co-sleeping or soothing to help children fall asleep.
- A significant percentage of children experience regular night waking, with few parents allowing them to self-soothe.
- Parental sleep-promoting strategies are often counterproductive, contributing to sleep onset and night waking difficulties.
Impact:
- Highlights the need for parental education on effective sleep strategies.
- Emphasizes the importance of early, consistent sleep routines for preventing childhood sleep issues.
- Underscores the role of primary care pediatricians in guiding parents toward appropriate sleep practices.
Background:
Sleeping problems are common in children. Approximately 10-20 % of infants regularly wake up at night and need help in resettling. Various factors have been associated with night waking such as perinatal problems, family stress, breast feeding and inappropriate sleep behavior.
Objectives:
The purpose of this study was to evaluate sleep behavior in children who visit the pediatrician, as well as the routines followed by parents to get their children to sleep.
Methods:
For a period of 1 year, a questionnaire was given to the parents of children aged between 6 months and 2 years attending for routine check-ups.
Results:
Most parents performed some activity to get their children to sleep. A total of 48.6 % slept with the child in the same room, 53.2 % rocked, picked up, soothed, fed or interacted with their children to help them fall asleep. Regular night waking was found in 10.8 % of children. In these cases, only 7.2 % of parents left their children to fall asleep again alone.
Conclusions:
In general, parents' measures to help their children fall asleep are inappropriate, resulting in problems of falling asleep and night waking. The most effective way to prevent these problems is to introduce consistent routines in the first few months of life. To prevent these problems, primary care pediatricians should provide guidance to parents.