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Fighting Sleep
A Look at Why Babies and Toddlers Fight Sleep
By Renee Roberson
A common discussion among parents of infants and toddlers often involves sleep patterns. Parents of young infants may be trying to figure out why their baby won't go to sleep without being rocked, swaddled or snuggled, while moms and dads of toddlers wonder why a blissful afternoon nap turns into a power struggle more often than not and bedtime just keeps getting later and later.
Here, two sleep experts answer questions and concerns about sleep issues with babies and toddlers that many parents struggle with at some point during parenthood.
According to Dr. Maida Chen, associate director of the Sleep Disorder Center at Seattle Children's Hospital, parents should begin practicing consistency early on by putting their baby to bed while the child is still slightly awake. This will help the child learn how to go to sleep independently in her crib or bassinet. Babies often get mixed signals when their parents use different methods for getting their baby ready for naptime or bedtime, and it's harder for them to become accustomed to a routine.
"If a baby only knows how to transition to sleep by being rocked or walked around, then that's what they'll want when they wake up in the middle of the night," says Dr. Jean Twomey, who works with infants with sleep issues at the Women and Infants Hospital of Rhode Island. "Sometimes poor sleeping habits develop through the parents by accident, particularly babies who are uncomfortable in the first few months with colic or reflux and need a lot of soothing," she says.
For a child who starts the first few months of life with medical issues, the parents are often left with a child who has a hard time transitioning into sleep once the issues have been resolved.
