What parents want: parent preference regarding sleep for their preschool child when attending early care and education

Dominique Sinclair; Sally Staton; Simon S Smith; Cassandra L Pattinson; Annette Marriott; Karen Thorpe

doi:10.1016/j.sleh.2015.11.002

What parents want: parent preference regarding sleep for their preschool child when attending early care and education

Sleep Health. 2016 Mar;2(1):12-18. doi: 10.1016/j.sleh.2015.11.002. Epub 2015 Dec 28.

Authors

Dominique Sinclair¹, Sally Staton², Simon S Smith³, Cassandra L Pattinson², Annette Marriott¹, Karen Thorpe⁴

Affiliations

¹ School of Psychology and Counselling, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, QLD, Australia.
² School of Psychology and Counselling, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, QLD, Australia; Centre for Children's Health Research, Lady Cilento Children's Hospital, Brisbane, QLD, Australia; Institute for Health and Biomedical Innovation, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, QLD, Australia.
³ School of Psychology and Counselling, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, QLD, Australia; Centre for Children's Health Research, Lady Cilento Children's Hospital, Brisbane, QLD, Australia; Institute for Health and Biomedical Innovation, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, QLD, Australia; Centre for Accident Research and Road Safety-Queensland (CARRS-Q), Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, QLD, Australia.
⁴ School of Psychology and Counselling, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, QLD, Australia; Centre for Children's Health Research, Lady Cilento Children's Hospital, Brisbane, QLD, Australia; Institute for Health and Biomedical Innovation, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, QLD, Australia. Electronic address: k.thorpe@qut.edu.au.

PMID: 29073446
DOI: 10.1016/j.sleh.2015.11.002

Abstract

Background: While most children cease napping between the ages of 2 and 5 years, across a range of international settings the allocation of a mandatory naptime is a common feature of the daily routine in Early Care and Education (ECE) programs for children of this age. Evidence regarding the developmental effects of napping is limited but, beyond age 2, is consistently associated with delayed night sleep onset and increased number of awakenings.

Objectives: The present study examined parent preferences towards napping in ECE.

Methods: Participants were 750 parents of preschool-aged children attending a representative sample of Australian ECE programs across metropolitan, regional and rural sites in 2011. We analysed quantitative and open-ended questionnaire data from a large, longitudinal study of the effectiveness of Australian early education programs (E4Kids). Statistical analyses examined prevalence of parent preference for sleep and demographic correlates. Thematic analyses were employed to identify parents' rationale for this preference.

Results: The majority of parents (78.7%) preferred that their children did not regularly sleep while attending ECE. The dominant explanation provided by parents was that regular naps were no longer appropriate and adversely impacted their children's health and development. Parents of younger children were more likely to support regular naps.

Conclusions: The results highlight a disjuncture between parent preferences and current sleep policy and practices in ECE. Further research is needed to establish evidence-based guidelines to support healthy sleep-rest practices in ECE. Such evidence will guide appropriate practice and support parent-educator communication regarding sleep and rest.

Keywords: Childcare; ECE; Families; Nap; Parents; Sleep.