Sleep Disturbances In Infancy And Childhood
(Written for "The Listener’ by DR.
H.
B.
TURBOTT
_ Director of the Division
of School Hygiene)
‘ANY parents complain that theis child will not sleep at night — there seems to be nothing wrong, no fever or vomiting--just a restless child that won't go to sleep or sleeps badly. A check-up with a doctor shows an appartently normal child, and you have made sure there are no worms. For the first six months of life, a child should sleep most of its time. During this period, sleep disturbances arise from hunger-the child is getting insufficient food-or the reverse-over-feeding and over-distension Or there may be colic, soiled napkins, or itching and discomfort from napkin cashes. Baby instinctively knows if mother worries about his upsets, and this only makes matters worse. Mother must be calm and soothing and convey confidence to baby. From six months of age onwards, mental factors begin to be more and more important. Sleep upsets arise from a wrong attitude of parents towards the child. Bedtime should be fixed, and there should be no irregularity and latitude allowed in the hour of retiring. There should not be rough, exciting, boisterous play just before bedtime — you can’t expect a child who has just been unduly excited to settle down to sleep. On the other hand, a preparatory quiet period -for example, story-time — is ideal before attempting to put children to sleep. Punishments o1 scoldings should never be given just before bedtime. Don’t develop the habit of letting children sit up to listen to the radionor the custom of putting the radio on loudly so that they may hear after they’ve gone to bed. Once a child has gone to bed, all attempts to catch the parent’s attention should be discouraged. There will be calls for such things as a drink of water, to be allowed to go to the lavatory, or "I want to kiss you good-night again." These should be ignored. Neither should a parent sit beside a child till he goes to sleep. If possible, the child or baby should sleep in its own room, alone, with the ventilation arranged so that that he is neither too hot nor too cold. ‘The room is best situated far enough away from the living rooms so that sounds from these are dulled and not heard too loudly. But there’s no need for tip-toeing round the house, as the baby or toddler must learn to sleep through an ordinary amount of noise. Most children have their daily baths before they go to bed. This habit of the warm bath before bed-time is a good one. If a child is not sleeping well, give a warm drink as well. Should bad sleeping habits have become established, the only cure is the hard way-the way that so many parents ate loath to follow. Allow the child to cry himself to sleep for a week or more if ‘necessary. Each night he will cry for a shorter period until finally peaceful sleep ensues. The amount of sleep that children need varies somewhat with each child, but it is fairly safe to aim at 12 hours sleep under five years of age, and 11 hours thereafter until 11 years old.
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https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/periodicals/NZLIST19430813.2.40.1
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New Zealand Listener, Volume 9, Issue 216, 13 August 1943, Page 18
Word count
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541Sleep Disturbances In Infancy And Childhood New Zealand Listener, Volume 9, Issue 216, 13 August 1943, Page 18
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Copyright in the work University Entrance by Janet Frame (credited as J.F., 22 March 1946, page 18), is owned by the Janet Frame Literary Trust. The National Library has been granted permission to digitise this article and make it available online as part of this digitised version of the New Zealand Listener. You can search, browse, and print this article for research and personal study only. Permission must be obtained from the Janet Frame Literary Trust for any other use.
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