Understanding Early Childhood Sleep Disturbances (Parenting Pointers Book 21)

Some children are difficult to get to sleep or keep asleep throughout the night. Such difficulties range from mild and occasional to severe and prolonged, and are referred to as “sleep disturbances,” “sleep problems” or “sleep disorders.”

Childhood sleep disturbances are seldom life threatening, but they can be draining for parents concerned about their child’s well-being as well as disrupt their own sleep to the point of exhaustion and frustration. At such times, what began as the child’s sleep problem hinders the parents’ sleeping patterns and produces parental feelings of anger, self-doubt and guilt – even conflict.

Recently, early childhood patterns of sleep have become a subject of scientific study. This has resulted in welcome, but incomplete, knowledge about the need for sleep and the disturbances caused by the lack of it. Although there is more to learn, clearly identifiable patterns of sleep disturbances and their causes have been confirmed – along with an understanding of the threats they pose to health.