Should I worry about his sleep during the coronavirus pandemic?
Worry is a normal reaction in response to an adverse experience such as now. Excessive worrying, though, becomes a problem when it interferes with normal daily living. Admittedly, it can be tough to tell the difference between when the situations around you (that is, community guidelines or changes in your life because of COVID-19) are interfering with normal daily living versus when your personal thoughts and feelings are interfering with your new routines and responsibilities. In either case, it can be difficult to follow regular sleep routines, but trying to do so can help everyone in the house.
If your child’s sleep is off schedule, or he is having a harder time falling asleep or waking more during the night, it is normal to be alarmed or at least alerted to the change as a parent. However, it is important to keep in mind that children are resilient and they can get back on track! For now, your routine may have slightly different timing or you may need to redo some sleep training to adjust to some of these changes. Depending on changes in your household, it may be impossible to do things EXACTLY as they were before this period of social and physical distancing due to COVID-19; however, sometimes choosing just one thing to change at a time, and sticking with it, can help a little one get back on track. Finally, if you are concerned about changes in your child’s sleep, be sure to contact your health care provider.
This post was written in the Spring of 2020. Please follow your local guidelines and advice from family health care providers for appropriate, current coronavirus safety measures.
