Children's choice of comforters and their effects on sleep

The study aimed to explore whether the choice of comforter affected quality of sleep in children between the ages of 1 and 4 living in Stockport. Information was elicited from parents as to their child's use of comforter, and parents' perceptions of their child's quality of sleep. A total of 180 questionnaires were distributed to parents attending well-baby clinics during a 2-month period; 126 questionnaires were returned and analysed. Data were coded, and where respondents were asked to construct their own comments, emerging themes were reported. Of the children using the comforters classified as 'easy access' (i.e. comforters they were more likely to find and hold) 71% were sleeping through the night at 6 months old. The associations were incremental in that of those children who used both 'easy access' comforters and comforters requiring parental input, 48% were sleeping through the night at 6 months, and of those children using only parental input comforters only 38% were sleeping through the night. Implications for practitioners are that 'easy access' comforters could be beneficial to aid sleep in young children, however as the study was small, generalizations cannot be made.