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Assessment of the problem

Last reviewed dd mmm yyyy. Last edited dd mmm yyyy

Authoring team

Obtain a good account of the problem - what happens when the child is unable to settle at night. Why is the lack of settling such a problem with the parents eg lack of privacy, tiredness.

Establish what the child's sleep pattern is. This may lead to the identification of a possible solution immediately. However often the account of the child's sleep pattern given by the parents is not clear and a parent should be asked to keep a sleep diary over the following week. This diary should include:

  • the time when the child wakes up in the morning. Did the child have to be roused?
  • what was the child's mood on wakening?
  • details concerning times and durations of naps during the day
  • the time that the child is told he must go to sleep
  • the time at which the child is known to have gone to sleep
  • details of any waking in the night - the time, duration and parental reaction

The sleep diary can be drawn up on a sheet of paper with the points listed proving columns of a table and the days in the week providing rows.

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The content herein is provided for informational purposes and does not replace the need to apply professional clinical judgement when diagnosing or treating any medical condition. A licensed medical practitioner should be consulted for diagnosis and treatment of any and all medical conditions.

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