Parenting and sleep in early childhood

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Measuring Neural Mechanisms Underlying Sleep-Dependent Memory Consolidation During Naps in Early Childhood
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Measuring Neural Mechanisms Underlying Sleep-Dependent Memory Consolidation During Naps in Early Childhood

Published on: October 2, 2019

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Liat Tikotzky1

  • 1Department of Psychology, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva, Israel.

Current Opinion in Psychology
|August 17, 2017
PubMed

Insights

Parenting significantly impacts early childhood sleep development through factors like bedtime routines and parental stress. Behavioral interventions empower parents to improve child sleep, highlighting their crucial role.

Area of Science:

  • Developmental Psychology
  • Pediatric Sleep Medicine
  • Family Studies

Background:

  • Childhood sleep is shaped by biological and socio-environmental factors.
  • Parenting plays a pivotal role in the transactional development of sleep.
  • Understanding parenting's influence is crucial for addressing sleep issues in early childhood.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To review recent studies on the links between parenting and early childhood sleep development.
  • To examine parenting factors within a transactional model of sleep development.
  • To highlight the role of parents in behavioral sleep interventions.

Main Methods:

  • Review of recent longitudinal and large cohort studies.
  • Analysis of various parenting factors influencing child sleep.
  • Examination of evidence for behavioral sleep interventions.

Main Results:

  • Parenting factors like bedtime behaviors, cognitions, and stress significantly affect child sleep development.
  • Maternal mood and the parents' relationship also impact sleep.
  • Behavioral sleep interventions are effective when parents lead the changes.

Conclusions:

  • Parenting is a key determinant in the development of early childhood sleep.
  • Transactional influences between parents and children shape sleep patterns.
  • Parents are central to successful behavioral sleep interventions for children.

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