Management of Child Sleep disorders
Management Advice to parents:
• Resist taking the child into bed during the night unless they are happy
to encourage this.
• Avoid giving attention to the child in the middle of the night—it
encourages attention seeking.
• Return the child to bed promptly and spend only a brief time with it to
give reassurance.
• A rigid series of rituals performed before bedtime helps the child to
develop a routine. Settling to sleep may be assisted by soft music, a
soft toy and a gentle night-light.
Medication has a minimal place in the management of sleep disturbances
although the judicious use of sedative/hypnotics for a short term may
break the sleepless cycle. Such drugs include trimeprazine (Vallergan)
1–2 mg/kg per dose.
Management Advice to parents:
• Resist taking the child into bed during the night unless they are happy
to encourage this.
• Avoid giving attention to the child in the middle of the night—it
encourages attention seeking.
• Return the child to bed promptly and spend only a brief time with it to
give reassurance.
• A rigid series of rituals performed before bedtime helps the child to
develop a routine. Settling to sleep may be assisted by soft music, a
soft toy and a gentle night-light.
Medication has a minimal place in the management of sleep disturbances
although the judicious use of sedative/hypnotics for a short term may
break the sleepless cycle. Such drugs include trimeprazine (Vallergan)
1–2 mg/kg per dose.