Recent News and Articles on the Keywords: children sleep + children behavior + sleep  Related to the article below (Last Update: 8/5/2008)

A red flag about medicating young children Monadnock Ledger Transcript, NH - With that understanding, adjusted expectations, removal of damaging behavior modification techniques such as punishment, many children, even those with ... What Are Your Kids Watching? Catholic Online, CA - 6.1 hours a day?let?s see, most kids that age sleep at least 10 hours, and that leaves 7.9 hours for what? This takes into account the Internet, iPods, ... Daily Mirror STUBBORN, NAUGHTY, T ROUBLESOME Daily Mirror, Sri Lanka - They are constantly demanding attention, will not sleep in the evenings and through the night. Studies show that children from birth to the age of 13 with ... Canada.com Too little childhood sleep tied to later problems Canada.com, Canada - Jul 31, 2008 "It's going to be important to help parents learn how to improve the quality of their children's sleep." Television tended to make matters worse, ... Visit to a Shelter Camp Islam Online, Qatar - The older children are much more aware of what is happening and therefore their occasional anger and aggressive behavior can be understood. ... 'Topeng monyet', violation of animal rights Jakarta Post, Indonesia - Teach your children not to be "captivated" by such behavior or they, too, will find themselves lacking empathy and tolerating other forms of cruelty toward ... Camp Codependence New York Times, United States - Jul 31, 2008 ... disgust and delectation, The Times? story last week on affluent parents who just can?t let go when their children abandon them for sleep-away camp. ... Tragedy prompts discussion at Wilson Buffalo News,  United States - A person can detect whether a teenager is ?worrying all the time and it?s affecting their sleep and eating habits and their relationships. ... Deployments stress kids, too Honolulu Advertiser, HI - Aug 3, 2008 For children 3 to 5, stress symptoms include refusing to sleep alone, sleep disturbance, brief episodes of sadness and re-enactment of traumatic events in ... When the Kremlin Picks Its Own Bedfellows The Moscow Times, Russia - To some extent, statements such as "Don't try to tell us whom we can sleep with," which the official also said at the briefing, can be written off as a ...

Are Your Kids Keeping You Up? An Overview of Sleep Behavior Disturbances in Children

Problems with sleep behaviors are commonly seen in children. Sleep is of primary importance at all stages of human development, and in the newborn, is the primary activity other than eating. Childhood sleep disturbances affect not only the child but also the whole family. There is an abundance of different beliefs and lore on this topic. Sifting through the enormous amount of material, approaches, and opinions about kids’ sleep can be daunting for parents. There is not one correct way to deal with your child in regard to sleep. Each child is unique and has his own special set of circumstances and needs. What’s important is for parents to identify what they feel comfortable with and what they feel is best for their child. I will delineate here some general principles and guidelines that I have found to be helpful for parents in making choices about how to handle their child’s sleep. I will also discuss some of the most common childhood sleep disturbances and some of their treatments.

Development of Sleep

When addressing difficulties that your child may be having with sleep, it is important to be aware of the general developmental progression of sleep behavior in kids. Newborns alternate between sleep and wakefulness every 3-4 hours, awakening often associated with hunger. As the child grows this develops into what is called a "diurnal" pattern. This means there are progressively longer periods of wakefulness during the daytime as well as longer periods of sustained sleep at nighttime. By about 12 weeks, an infant may sleep at night for periods up to 8 hours. At 3-4 months, more than 70% of infants are sleeping for sustained periods of time at night. This is sometimes referred to as "settling in" and it occurs as the infant’s brain matures. If we look at EEG patterns (an EEG is an instrument that measures brain waves) we can see the patterns becoming increasingly organized into distinctive stages differentiating sleep from wakefulness. An infant probably spends 16 hours of a 24-hour period asleep. This decreases to 12 hours in the second year of life, 10 hours by age 3, and to 9 hours from ages 8-12. Remember that this varies according to the child. With some children, this kicks in quite early and with others it happens much later on. This is simply a variation in normal development.

Different sleep difficulties tend to cluster around different ages. Before the age of three it is common for infants to have problems going to sleep and nighttime awakening. Nightmares, fear of the dark, and night terrors usually begin to occur between ages 3-6, and sleepwalking usually has its onset after age 6. Sleep problems appearing later and in adolescence are more frequently associated with underlying psychiatric disorders, drug abuse, or medical conditions like narcolepsy.

Should Johnny Be Sleeping In His Own Bed?

There are different philosophies about children sleeping in the same bed as their parents. Western culture expects children to sleep alone from a very early age. In non-Western cultures, families tend to sleep together for a much longer period of time. Parents generally have to decide what works for them and their lifestyle. This issue can sometimes be a source of conflict between parents. I recently consulted with a set of new parents who disagreed about whether their 4-month-old son should be sleeping in their bed. Mom found this convenient for breast-feeding, enjoyed having her son sleep with her, and felt that this was an important bonding experience for them. Dad complained of feeling tired at work the next day and felt frustrated about the lack of sex with his wife. I advise parents that the older a baby is when he is sleeping with his parents, the more difficulty they are likely to experience when making the transition from their bed to the child’s own bed. Kids generally love to sleep with their parents. Once used to this they can be quite resistant to changing. It’s important for parents to be aware of the impact that this has on their own time for both sexual and emotional intimacy.

Night Wakings

Infants sleeping alone often wake at night and fall back asleep without the parents being aware of the arousal. Some infants, as most parents know, cry upon awakening and this can become a regular and frequent habit. The concerned parent may rush in to see that the child is okay and to provide comfort. If a healthy baby continuously awakens this can be a source of distress for the parents. One popular intervention is "Ferberizing." This is a method popularized by Dr. Richard Ferber. Basically it involves letting the child continue to cry for increasingly longer periods of time without intervening. The goal is to foster the child’s ability to "self-sooth" or put themselves back to sleep. This is effective after a few days for many children. However, some parents don’t feel comfortable with what they perceive as a "cold turkey" approach. Parents need to do what they feel comfortable with and often do well with modified approaches. I advise parents to try and not respond instantaneously to the child’s awakening and crying. An instant response is likely to be gratifying to the child and increase the likelihood that this behavior will recur. Frequently a baby will cry for 20-30 minutes and then fall back asleep. A timer is often useful to keep track of how long your child has been crying (20 minutes at 2 am can seem like 2 hours). Children often respond rather quickly to methods like "Ferberizing." However, transitions, changes in environment, travel, and illnesses can causes these difficulties to recur.

Mommy There’s a Monster in My Closet!

Around ages 3-5 children commonly experience fears around going to bed and the dark. This is a period of a child’s development in which the boundary between fantasy and reality is commonly blurred. Our culture is replete with stories of nighttime visitors like the toothfairy and Santa Claus as well as stories of monsters and the bogeyman. Children’s imaginations are quite vivid and bedtime can be a particularly scary time for some youngsters. A night-light can help some of those monsters go away. Nightmares also begin to occur at this time. Sometimes these awaken the child in the middle of the night. Listening to your child’s fears and concerns while reassuring him is the best response. I recommend trying to avoid bringing your child into your bed for comfort. Your child will certainly welcome it, but this can quickly become a favorite habit.

Night Terrors versus Nightmares

Night terrors start to occur in the 3-5 age range, as well. Night terrors are distinct from nightmares. With night terrors, children will begin to scream and cry in the middle of the night but still be asleep. These episodes are self-limited and it is best to hold the child, not attempt to awaken them, but comfort them until they have settled down again. Night terrors tend to run in families and usually resolve spontaneously. At times the problem will be frequent and severe enough that medication is used.

Bed-Wetting

Enuresis is what doctors call bedwetting. This can be quite embarrassing for older children, who are often fearful of having sleepovers at a friend’s house, knowing they could have an "accident". Devices that set off an alarm to awaken the child when he urinates in bed can be quite effective for some. Different drugs have been used to treat this but I generally do not recommend them. Most medicines stop working after a period of time or the problem recurs as soon as the medicine is discontinued. Most children grow out of this problem eventually and parents need to be patient and supportive.

Sleepwalking

Sleepwalking, like night terrors, tends to run in families. This problem emerges more frequently sometime after age 6. A child can get up and walk around while still in a sleep state. At times, the child can open doors and go outside. When the problem is this severe and can possibly endanger the child, medication is used. Generally the child should be led back to bed without attempting to awaken him. Sleepwalking tends to spontaneously resolve.

Summary

Sleep is a complex and vital behavior for children. The development of regular sleep-wake cycles is vital for their healthy development. Each child is unique and varies according to his own unique needs and environment. Both brain function and external factors influence sleep-wake cycles. Parents play an important role in facilitating the development of their child’s sleep behavior. Sleep disturbances can be caused by a number of factors. It is important to consult your pediatrician to rule out medical causes for sleep problems. Parents have many tools at their disposal to enhance their child’s sleep. The adage "an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure" holds particularly true for sleep behavior in children. Good sleep hygiene is the best way to facilitate appropriate sleep behavior for kids.