Sleep facts, Sleep myths: 10 things every parent needs to know.

Sleep is by far one of the most confounding issues for parents with small children. Many grasp at straws searching for the right way  to get their kids to sleep through the night but often find conflicting advice and many misperceptions.   Here, our Parents Ask expert, Elizabeth Pantley sets the record straight on sleep.
 
10 things you need to know about kids and sleep:
 
1. Poor sleep causes crying, tantrums, whining, and fussing.
True: Beyond the frustrating parenting issues involved in sleep problems — your child’s sleep habits can affect every single waking moment of every single day. A sleep-deprived child is simply not as happy as one who gets adequate sleep every day.
 
2. One in three children wakes up at night.
True: As frustrating as it is to parents, night waking is normal. All human beings wake up five or more times each night, when shifting from one stage of sleep to another. The issue is not for a child to sleep all night without waking up, but for a child to be able to fall back to sleep – totally on his own – each time he does wake up.
 
3. The first five minutes of naptime reduce tiredness.
True: The first few minutes of a nap eliminate tiredness for the moment. If woken just after falling asleep a child can’t return to sleep easily. Yet -- at least an hour long nap is important to refresh a child for the remainder of the day.
 
4. Early bedtime means better sleep.
True: The majority of children have a natural, biological bedtime that is early in the evening. Most babies, toddlers and preschoolers respond best with a bedtime between 6:00 and 7:30 P.M.  Most children will fall asleep easier at this time and then actually sleep better and longer when they go to bed earlier.
 
5. A dark room and sleepy sounds bring better slumber.
True: Take advantage of your child’s natural biology so that he is actually tired when his bedtime arrives. You can help align sleepiness with bedtime by dimming the lights in your home during the hour or two before bedtime. Also, noises in the house and neighborhood can prevent a child from falling asleep, or wake him up after he’s gone to bed. To mask noises and to create a strong sleep cue, use white noise, such as ocean waves or rainfall (use a sound machine), lullabies, soft music, or a radio set on a talk station.
 
6. Feeding a baby will make him sleep longer.
False: If that was true all babies that eat solids would sleep through the night – and we all know that is not true.
 
7. Keeping a baby up late will make him really tired so he’ll fall asleep.
False: Once a child becomes overtired he becomes wired and unable to fall asleep easily. Catching a child just when he’s becoming tired is the easiest time for him to fall asleep.
 
8. You shouldn’t sleep with your baby.
False: If mommy, daddy and baby all are sleeping well, and the bed situation is set up safely for your baby co-sleeping is a normal and wonderful way for many families to sleep.
 
9 Some toddlers don’t need naps.
False: All children benefit from daily naps as a child’s biology is not created to go from morning to bedtime without a rest break.
 
10: It should be perfectly quiet for a baby to sleep.
False. The womb is a very, very noisy place, therefore many babies sleep better with some background noise. Soft lullabies, talk radio, or white noise recordings of ocean waves, rainfall or a human heartbeat can help a baby sleep better.