Night Waking

Although you may feel like the only parent on your street who's up in the middle of the night tending to the needs of a child, chances are you're in pretty good company. Approximately 30 percent of parents with children between the ages of 1 and 4 report that their toddlers and preschoolers wake them up in the middle of the night at least three times each week, and 10 percent of parents with children in this age bracket report being awakened from their sleep at least twice each night.

Chronic sleep deprivation can really take its toll on your energy and patience levels, to say nothing of your sex life, so if you're contending with an in-house night owl, you'll want to come up with creative strategies for catching up on your sleep. That might mean trading "night shifts" with your partner or lining up friends or relatives to come to your house so that you can squeeze in a late-afternoon or after-dinner siesta. It can also help to understand what causes toddlers to disrupt their parents' sleep night after night.

There are almost as many reasons for night waking as there are night-waking kids. Here's a quick run-through of some of the most common reasons for night waking:

Physical discomfort. The physical discomfort associated with such medical conditions as teething, ear infections, allergies, pinworms, urinary tract infections, colds and fevers can cause a child who was previously sleeping through the night to start waking in the night again.

Environmental factors. If your child wets his bed or becomes uncomfortably hot or cold while he's sleeping, he's more likely to wake up in the middle of the night. Because young kids are notorious for kicking off the covers midway through the night, you'll want to make sure that your child gets tucked into bed in suitably warm sleepwear.

Developmental issues. It's not unusual for a child to experience difficulty sleeping when he's just achieved a new developmental milestone like walking. He may be so excited about mastering this new skill that he finds it difficult to wind down at the end of the day, or he may be feeling frustrated if he's unable to immediately achieve a related skill—like climbing! Another developmental issue that can wreak havoc on his—and your—ability to sleep is separation anxiety. If your child can't bear being away from you for even 15 seconds during the daytime, he's bound to find it difficult to get through an entire night without you.

Emotional issues. A child's sleep patterns can be thrown off track by a stressful event like a move to a new house, the birth of a new baby or a recent hospital stay. The more sensitive your child, the more likely he is to have his sleep patterns disrupted by this sort of event.

Sleep problems. If your child has not yet learned how to soothe himself back to sleep if he awakens in the night, he's likely to call for you. He's also likely to call out in the night if he suffers from nightmares or night terrors.