From the DukeHealth.org archives. Content may be out of date.
Sleep Solutions for Kids of All Ages
Dozens of methods claim to be THE way to help your child sleep through the night, but which is right for your and your child?
In My Child Won’t Sleep: A Quick Guide for the Sleep-Deprived Parent, Sujay Kansagra, MD, a pediatric sleep specialist at Duke, offers a quick, easy, unbiased understanding of the sleep methods proven through medical studies to be effective.
Dr. Kansagra says he’s not partial to one method over another. That really depends on what parents are comfortable doing with their child. “The reason methods fail is either because parents don’t like the method, or are not persistent enough. Parents have to choose what they feel comfortable with. That is the main factor influencing success.”
Nearly 50 percent of young children and 40 percent of adolescents experience sleep issues at some point in their young lives. When the child doesn’t sleep, the parents don’t either. Yet, not all parents are willing to let their children cry for extended periods of time, as some methods recommend.
Dr. Kansagra reviews four sleep methods for infants, two for adolescents, and one straight-forward method for the two main sleep problems in pre-teens and teens. He explains the pros and cons for each method, and suggests steps to modify each approach to make parents as comfortable as possible.
“I’m a big fan of sleep and trying to get everyone to sleep,” says Dr. Kansagra about why he wrote the book. “I want parents to be able to read through the book in less time than it takes a kid to nap, and make it easy for them to implement a sleep solution.”
Hopefully, a good night’s sleep will be that solution for everyone.
You can download a copy of My Child Won’t Sleep: A Quick Guide for the Sleep-Deprived Parent on Amazon.com.
