Essay on Children Services Piece.

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Parent Tip Sheet 34

Sleep (Children 0 – 6 years)
Managing sleep for babies and children is one of the most common concerns for parents. Many worry about whether they are doing the right thing if their child doesn’t sleep soundly all through the night. There are many different ways for parents to help babies and children to sleep, and patterns vary between cultures and families. What matters most is that bedtime is relaxed and comfortable and that babies and children have comfort when they need it and that they are safe. If things aren’t working well for you, some of the following information may help.
This tip sheet uses ‘he’ and ‘she’ in turn.

There are many different ways for parents to help babies and children to sleep, and patterns vary between cultures and families. What matters most is that bedtime is relaxed and comfortable and that babies and children have comfort when they need it and that they are safe.

Some facts about sleep

Types of sleep
There are two main kinds of sleep – light sleep and deep sleep. Light sleep is when we dream and
‘go over’ the day’s events and wake feeling refreshed.
It is also the kind of sleep where we wake more easily.
With babies this is 80% of sleep, but by adolescence it is only about 20% of sleep.
Deep sleep is when growing and healing takes place.
It is much harder to wake people from this kind of sleep.
Each night we all go through sleep cycles from light sleep to deep sleep then light again. Babies move through these two types of sleep but their cycle is shorter. Toddlers usually take about an hour for each sleep pattern or cycle.
It is between the stages of light and deep sleep that as adults we might roll over to get comfortable and then fade back into sleep. For babies and toddlers this may be where they cry and need help to resettle back to sleep.

How long do babies and children sleep?
Sleep is very individual and can vary a lot at any age. Children in one family may have very different sleeping needs to those in another family.
Sometimes a child’s sleep pattern does not match their parents’ expectations.
The best way to work out how much sleep your baby or child needs is to keep a sleep diary or chart. Mark when your baby or child is asleep and when she is awake.
This way you can get an average of how much sleep she needs each day. Talk to your health professional if you’d like help to do this.
Remember that sleep needs change quickly as babies and children grow and you need to adapt to these changes.

Getting ready for sleep
Most of us have some kind of winding down time before we go to sleep. This can also help babies and children to relax and settle into sleep.
Try to make the last hour or so before bed a time for quiet, relaxing activities. Babies generally find comfort and security in a bath, a quiet story, a song and special goodnight kiss. Routines can often help parents too in organising bedtimes, and so reduce tension and stress.

Sleep programs
There are a number of programs that are meant to help parents settle babies and children for sleep.
Programs that distress babies and children, such as controlled crying, are not recommended. These programs suggest that parents respond to crying on the basis of time rather than the child’s signals, and so do not help babies and children develop secure attachment with their parents.
Young babies often give very small signals for what they need and parents need to learn their baby’s signals and respond to them. This says to the baby that they have been heard. Babies need to know you will respond to them when they cry in order to feel safe and secure.
Learn to know your child’s cry – when it is just a settling
‘grizzle’, and when it is a ‘real’ cry that you need to attend to.

Night waking
For many parents, just knowing that night waking is
‘normal’ in the early years helps remove some of the stress. Each family needs to deal with night