title: Parenting services may be an opportunity for improving bedtime routines among at-risk preschoolers.
abstract: Several interventions aimed at improving children's sleep behaviors have been successful. However, a less expensive alternative with broader coverage might be for existing parenting programs to incorporate sleep promotion into their curricula. This study examines approximately 1,800 low-income children according to whether their mothers received 5 types of parenting services in the child's first 3 years of life: case management, home visiting, parent-child groups, parenting classes, and parenting support groups. Children whose mothers participated in a parent-child group or parenting class by the child's 10th month of life, or in case management between the child's 11th and 19th months of life, were more likely to have a regular bedtime at age 3. Children whose mother participated in a parent-child group between the child's 11th and 19th months of life were more likely to have a regular bedtime routine (i.e., bathing or reading a story) at age 3. Home visiting and parent support groups were not associated with children's sleep-related behaviors. Further research should explore the potential for integrating sleep-related behaviors into the curriculum for case management, parent-child groups, and parenting classes in children's first 3 years of life.
authors: National Center for Children and Families, Teachers College, Columbia University, NY, USA.
authors: Anne
authors: A
authors: Martin
authors: R Gabriela
authors: RG
authors: Barajas
authors: Jeanne
authors: J
authors: Brooks-Gunn
authors: Lauren
authors: L
authors: Hale
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002652:Child Behavior; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D010287:Parent-Child Relations; D016487:Parenting; D010290:Parents / Q000193:education*; D011203:Poverty; D012890:Sleep