Information and Resources For Health Visitors and Healthcare Professionals

Problems with Sleep

Sleep problems in babies and children is probably one of the most frequent areas of parenting that Health Visitors and their teams deal with. A child, who is not sleeping, can cause absolute misery and sheer frustration for parents and carers.

Also, I am sure we are all aware of how we feel when we do not get enough sleep….so can you imagine how babies and children feel, when their days and nights are continually broken with disturbed sleep.

We all know that babies are not born knowing how to fall and stay asleep. Some babies and their parents/carers are born lucky! And their babies fall asleep no problem and stay asleep for long periods. This is not common, but we all hear about them! but it can happen as long as the baby/child is taught safely. However, for the majority of babies, they have to learn how to fall asleep and develop a healthy body clock pattern. It’s the parents and carers that need help and support from us, to understand and apply this sleep training.

Sometimes Health Visitors and their teams come across babies or children where the routine sleep training www.healthvisitors.com/healthvisitors/may does not work (usually about 5-7%) of babies/children, and therefore warrants a full sleep assessment. Thus, the following document can be printed off your computer and given to the parent/carer who should be asked to complete this document, in order for you to assess exactly what area of the training is not working. This will enable you to negotiate with the parent/carer a different package of care. For Sleep Diary please click here

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