Parenting services may be an opportunity for improving bedtime routines among at-risk preschoolers

Behav Sleep Med. 2011;9(4):237-42. doi: 10.1080/15402002.2011.606771.

Abstract

Several interventions aimed at improving children's sleep behaviors have been successful. However, a less expensive alternative with broader coverage might be for existing parenting programs to incorporate sleep promotion into their curricula. This study examines approximately 1,800 low-income children according to whether their mothers received 5 types of parenting services in the child's first 3 years of life: case management, home visiting, parent-child groups, parenting classes, and parenting support groups. Children whose mothers participated in a parent-child group or parenting class by the child's 10th month of life, or in case management between the child's 11th and 19th months of life, were more likely to have a regular bedtime at age 3. Children whose mother participated in a parent-child group between the child's 11th and 19th months of life were more likely to have a regular bedtime routine (i.e., bathing or reading a story) at age 3. Home visiting and parent support groups were not associated with children's sleep-related behaviors. Further research should explore the potential for integrating sleep-related behaviors into the curriculum for case management, parent-child groups, and parenting classes in children's first 3 years of life.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S.

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Child Behavior
  • Child, Preschool
  • Female
  • Follow-Up Studies
  • Humans
  • Infant
  • Male
  • Parent-Child Relations*
  • Parenting*
  • Parents / education*
  • Poverty
  • Sleep*