Parent knowledge of child sleep: a pilot study in a children's hospital cohort

Parent knowledge about child sleep may influence parent efforts to support healthy sleep in their children. The present study aimed to describe parent knowledge of child sleep in a hospital cohort and potential correlates including barriers to children's bedtime, information seeking about child sleep, and demographics such as child age, parent education, and household income.

In total, 115 parents of children aged 2-12 years attending hospital inpatient wards or day ward were approached individually and invited to complete the questionnaire. Questionnaire items were modified measures in published articles, identified through literature review, or developed from clinical experience.

Parents on average answered half of the knowledge questions accurately, and knowledge about child sleep was positively correlated with education and household income. Parents who sought information from books or the Internet had greater knowledge about child sleep than parents who did not endorse these sources of information. The accuracy of parent estimations of their child's sleep requirements varied: 55% were within recommendations, while 26% underestimated their child's sleep requirements, 19% overestimated. Parents who correctly estimated their child's sleep requirements had higher education and income on average and were more likely to parent younger children (age 2-5 years). Parents who overestimated or underestimated sleep requirements were more likely to identify greater barriers to their child's bedtime.

Overall knowledge of child sleep in this sample was poor, consistent with samples from North American communities. Future studies should examine whether knowledge about child sleep and barriers to children's bedtimes are related to actual child sleep behaviors or parent practices to support their children to achieve a healthy sleep.