When it comes to helping little ones get a good night's sleep, you'll hear advice about everything from co-sleeping to darkness to schedules. A new study suggests that the details are less important than the emotional connection between children and their parents, and the more responsive the parents are the better the little ones sleep.
According to the study, what the parents do at bedtime is not nearly as important as the quality of that time. Toddlers and babies went to sleep easier and stayed asleep better when their emotional needs were met and they felt attached to their parents.
The study involved 35 families with infants 24 months of age and younger, and used multiple video cameras in the infants' and parents' bedrooms to record parent-infant interactions at night.
"Bed time can be a very emotional time. It heralds the longest separation of the day for most infants," said study researcher Douglas Teti, professor of human development and family studies at Penn State. "It struck me that going to sleep, and sleeping well, is much easier for some young children than others, and I wanted to assess what factored into this, and what parents and children contribute to sleep patterns."
In the study, which examined the behavior of mothers and fathers at bedtimes, parents had the most success with their children's sleep when they responded appropriately to their children's cues. For example, one mother in the study talked quietly and gently to her 6-month-old infant while breastfeeding.
"She continuously gazed at the infant's face and, whenever the infant vocalized, she responded promptly (e.g., 'It's OK.')," the authors report in a recent issue of the Journal of Family Psychology.
In contrast, a different mother in the study "used stern directives with her 24-month-old during book-reading whenever the child got up out of bed," and "continually attempted to engage the child in the book despite clear signs that the child was losing interest (e.g., child was fidgety and continually turned his attention elsewhere)," the authors say. As a result, "the child got up and left the room four times before he eventually fell asleep."
When parents provide reassurance through emotional communication, Teti and his colleagues say that it lets children know they are in a safe environment.
Chronic sleep troubles in childhood are associated with daytime behavioral problems, sleepiness and attention problems, and poor academic performance, the researchers say.
For more help getting little ones to sleep, see "The Baby Sleep Book: The Complete Guide to a Good Night's Rest for the Whole Family" by William and Martha Sears or "The No-Cry Sleep Solution: Gentle Ways to Help Your Baby Sleep Through the Night" by Elizabeth Pantley. Both are available locally through Barnes and Noble or can be ordered through the Mankato Public Library.
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