From Parenting 24/7: University of Illinois Extension
NSF and Pampers® Baby-Dry™ Release Poll on Children’s Sleep Habits
Posted , updated Oct 25, 2005.
The National Sleep Foundation and Pampers® Baby-Dry™ recently partnered to determine how America’s children are sleeping and how sleep can affect children’s day and nighttime behavior. A telephone survey of 1,003 parents of children four years-of-age and younger found that, according to parents, children 0-4 years-old are not getting the 12-15 hours of sleep per night that pediatric sleep experts recommend. The poll shows that 7 in 10 children 0-5 months old sleep 12 hours or more, but as children get older, their sleep amount declines.
Other significant findings:
- Nighttime awakenings among children were frequent – 50% of parents said their child woke up or needed attention during the night. While not unusual for newborns and infants, this behavior persisted through the age groups with 43% of three year-olds typically waking one or more times during the night.
- At least one in 10 respondents in each age group said their child needed their attention two or more times per night.
- When asked about their responses when their children woke during the night, 49% of parents/caregivers said they briefly attended to their child; 36% said they stayed with the child until he/she fell asleep again; and 31% said they fed the child or gave him/her a drink.
- Parents who attended to their children during a nighttime awakening (as opposed to letting the child fall back asleep on his/her own) were more likely to say they believed their child had a sleep problem and that their child’s sleep was disrupting the family’s sleep as well.
- 66% of parents believed they were not getting as much sleep as they need.
- Across all age groups, 98% of parents said their child is happier after a good night’s sleep.
More information:
- Check out the NSF/Pampers poll now!
- Learn more about children and sleep
From: NSF Alert for October 25, 2005