title: The influence of chronotype in the daily lives of young children.
abstract: Research on chronotypic differences has been conducted for many years, however, until recently, little attention has been paid to young children. The current study examined the influence of morningness-eveningness in the daily lives of 2 to 4 year olds (291 females, 230 males, 8 gender not given) via an online survey completed by 529 mothers from across the United States. The results replicated previous findings on chronotypic differences in sleep-wake patterns and the development of morningness-eveningness in early childhood. The influence of chronotype on sleep habits, daily routines and schedules was also explored. At both bed and wake times, mothers of evening type (E-type) children were more likely to report challenges. For a while, morning type (M-type) children tended to fall asleep easily and wake themselves up in the morning, E-types were more likely to show bedtime resistance, wake in a negative mood and have conflicts with their parents. In the morning, mothers of M-type children often stuck to their normal routine on days when the child had to be somewhere at 7:00 am, whereas mothers of E-type children employed different strategies to get their child up and out the door. Bedtime routines and daily schedules also differed by chronotype. Individual differences in morningness-eveningness and their impact on sleep-wake patterns and social interactions are evident early on. A greater understanding of how they affect the lives of young children and their future development is needed.
authors.affiliation: a Department of Psychology , Shenandoah University , Virginia , USA.
authors.forename: Laura K
authors.initials: LK
authors.lastname: Zimmermann
mesh_terms: D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D000204:Activity Cycles; D000339:Affect; D000367:Age Factors; D002652:Child Behavior; D002675:Child, Preschool; D002940:Circadian Rhythm; D003220:Conflict, Psychological; D005260:Female; D006184:Habits; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010287:Parent-Child Relations; D012890:Sleep; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013997:Time Factors; D014851:Wakefulness
keywords: Chronotype; daily routines; morningness–eveningness; parent-child conflict; preschoolers; sleep habits; sleep-wake patterns; toddlers