Children's sleep difficulties.

Children's sleep difficulties vary with the age and developmental stage of the child. They can be simple with a single cause and a quick solution, or they can be complex with more than one difficulty. It is always important to differentiate between a genuine sleep difficulty and a physical or psychological problem. The most common sleep difficulties are related to going to bed, getting to sleep, and staying asleep all night without interruption.


Some children are resistant to bed time. They always want another story, another drink or snack, and generally put off the time when they must go to bed. For some children this is because they are fearful of being alone, of the dark or because they have had bad dreams, or fear bad things lurking in their room. Developing a good short recognisable pre bed routine which allows the child to quiet their thoughts and calm before bed is helpful and there are simple reassuring measures that parents can take to make the experience less worrying.


Learning to go to sleep without requiring any other stimulation is entirely possible. Always being be held, fed, rocked or to have a parent present, leads the child to believe that without these contacts and reassurances they cannot get to sleep by themselves. In fact every child can get to sleep without these associations but some take longer to learn this. Parents who have had difficulties in getting their child to sleep may inadvertantly create a situation where the child will not sleep without their presence and this has to be unlearned.


Although sleep is considered to be a quiet activity this is not always the case. Most children have between five and eight periods of lighter sleep when they may waken. If they required a parental presence to get them to sleep at bed time, they will require this again when their lighter sleep results in a night waking. Adults also have these periods of lighter sleep but they are usually aware that this is light sleep and may change their position and return to sleep without a full awareness of having been lightly asleep. Children have to learn to do this too.

If you need help to teach your child to sleep Contact us at Dream-Angus.com

Sleep in children starting school

Sleep disorders in children starting school are associated with impaired performance and behavioural difficulties. This is not at all unusual and a recent study by Lehmkul G Fricke-Okermann L, Wiater A and Mitchke decided to look at the causes and effects of sleep disorders in this group. It is already recognised that these disorders manifest themselves highly variably among children of any given age, and even in an individual affected child, they need an appropriate diagnostic evaluation so that the many environmental and background factors that may be relevant to the further course of the problem can be assessed.

In order to look more closely at this extensive data was obtained on approximately 1400 children who were tested before beginning school in 2005. This was accomplished using a special sleep questionnaire and another screening instrument that is used to assess behavioral strengths and difficulties (the SDQ, Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire).

Five percent of the children were found to have difficulty falling asleep, difficulty staying asleep, or nocturnal awakening. Less frequent problems included parasomnias such as pavor nocturnus (0.5%), sleepwalking (0.1%), and frequent nightmares (1.7%).

This study showed that sleep disorders increase the risk of daytime fatigue and of psychological problems in general, including both hyperactivity and excessive emotional stress.

These results imply that sleep problems and emotional disturbances are intimately connected and underscore the importance of diagnosing sleep problems in young children.

If you are aware that your child is having sleep difficulties contact Dream-Angus.com for support and advice.