A new study has found that children who have problems sleeping, such as nightmares and bed wetting, often had bedtime issues when they were babies too.
Many Mums and Dads treat sleeplessness in babies as a normal part of being a parent, while infants who sleep a lot are often thought of as perfect children, but research from the Ohio-based Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Centre indicates that very young children with unusual sleep patterns are more likely to suffer with more serious conditions as they get older.
The study involved over 200 families and looked into the sleeping patterns of a group of infants from when they were six months old until their third birthday. Experts found that toddlers who had shown signs of unusual sleeping behaviour as newborns were more likely to suffer problems such as bed-wetting and nightmares later on.
However, among babies whose sleep patterns were in a more normal range, it was very rare to see these kinds of problems develop as they got older. In fact, fewer than ten per cent of the children showed signs of developing new sleep issues between the six-monthly observational periods.
Parents are being encouraged not to suffer in silence if their baby seems to have problems settling for the night or staying asleep, or even if the child appears to sleep too much, as dealing with the problem while the infant is young is better than dealing with the consequences in later years.
Not only is a good night’s sleep essential for the health of both the child and the parents, but the ability to sleep through the night in their own bed is an important part of the child’s social development. Mums and Dads should speak to their family doctor or paediatrician if they are concerned in any way about their baby’s sleep patterns, avoiding sleepless nights in the future.
No related posts.
