How Do Mothers Help Their Children Sleep at Night? Night-waking Strategy Use Among Mothers of Preschool-aged Children

Abstract

Night-waking is common among preschool-aged children. Little is known about night-time parenting among parents of preschool-aged children. To explore night-waking strategy use in a community sample, 203 mothers (M age = 32 years, SD = 5.1; children's M age = 3.4 years, SD = 1.0) completed the Night-waking Strategy Scale (NSS) and measures of general parenting, agreement with night-waking strategies, and children's sleep. Children were grouped by age (2-, 3-, and 4-to-5-year-olds). Mothers endorsed using routines most frequently, followed by active comforting and rewards; limit-setting and punishment were used less often. NSS punishment and routines were significantly associated with parenting (e.g. laxness was correlated with NSS routines, rs = −.35 to .47, p < .001). Night-waking strategy use was correlated with agreement with those strategies (e.g. active comforting was correlated with agreement with active comforting rs = .35 to .52, p < .001). Active comforting was correlated with the frequency of children's night-waking for 2- and 3-year-olds (rs = .35 and .38, respectively, p < .01). Mothers of preschool-aged children in the community engage in a range of parenting strategies to manage children's night-waking. These strategies are largely consistent with general parenting and agreement with night-waking strategy use. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.