What does “sleep through the night” actually mean? Not surprisingly, this means different things to different people and it strongly depends on the age of the child. Sleeping through the night involves several hours of consolidated sleep. For a 5-year-old this might be 10-12 hours. For a [...]
My child has Down syndrome. What should I know about his sleep? For all children, whether or not they have Down syndrome, falling asleep at the beginning of the night, and falling back to sleep after natural night-time waking, is something they have to learn how to do. For some children this comes [...]
My child has developmental delays. What should I know about her sleep? Children with developmental delay take longer to reach their milestones than others of the same age. They may be late to use the potty or may still have tantrums long after their peers. In just the same way, they can take longer [...]
Can you explain sleep cycles? When we fall asleep at night there are changes in a range of physiological processes. In other words, many things change in our bodies as we fall asleep. For example, there are changes to our brain activity, heart rate, and muscle tone. In addition, there are more [...]
My baby won’t sleep – what am I doing wrong? Parents (and others in their lives) may blame themselves when their little one doesn’t sleep well, but it is important to recognize that many aspects of a baby’s sleep are not related to parenting. Your baby might have a medical condition, such [...]
What should I know about toddler sleep? 1. It is normal for toddlers (and everyone else!) to wake several times during the night. 2. Most toddlers (over 80 %) stop taking naps between the ages of 3 and 4 years, but some will still need a nap at age 5 years and a few may even need a nap at age 6 [...]
Why does my baby cry? Babies cry for many reasons. Many parents believe that crying always signals distress. Unfortunately, we cannot guess or know exactly what an infant feels when he wakes up during the night. However, we do know that crying is a very powerful form of early communication. Infants [...]
What is narcolepsy, and when does it develop? Do I have to be concerned about my toddler? Narcolepsy is a rare, chronic neurologic disorder that causes people to have excessive sleepiness during the daytime even though they are getting plenty of sleep at night. People with narcolepsy often describe [...]
I have narcolepsy. Do I need to worry about my baby having it too? Narcolepsy can certainly run in families, but this is actually more the exception rather than the rule. Fewer than 5% of people with narcolepsy will have a first-degree relative (parent, child, or sibling) who also has narcolepsy. [...]
My baby was born prematurely. How will that affect her sleep? Generally speaking, the more premature your baby is (the earlier she was born before her due date), the higher her risk will be for sleep problems. Your preemie (baby born prematurely, or preterm infant) probably will not start sleeping [...]