If we talk about primary sleep disorders in infants and young children, then the most common forms include behavioral insomnia and sleep related eating disorder.

As is evident from the title, the issue of behavioral insomnia lies in the improper organization of the child's behavior and parents in the period associated with sleep. This is most often due to a violation of associations falling asleep. How it looks like in practice? The child often wakes up at night crying and did not calm down until then, until it would not take the hands and shake. Another option is the inability to fall asleep at night alone - require the mandatory presence of adults during sleep, which may be delayed for several hours. Cause of such disorders is the formation of abnormal associations of sleep - the environmental conditions under which the child feels comfortable, calm down and falls asleep. If the first months of life, he becomes accustomed to doze in their arms, with rocking, respectively, and later the kid will "defend" its right to such an organization of sleep - because otherwise he does not know. Therefore, you should create the conditions for the formation of the "right" sleep associations. This is facilitated by adherence to the same ritual of laying: bathing, feeding, short period of stay in bed adult child and leaving him alone.

Currently, due to the emergence of numerous devices for surveillance (baby monitors, video cameras), parents can know what is happening in the children's bedroom and do not go there yet again. By suspending, the wrong associations include falling asleep at the hands of the adults in the parental bed, with rocking at overputing hair during feeding with a bottle in his mouth with his finger in his mouth, etc. Why in the wrong? Because waking up at night, the baby will cry to demand to create the conditions in which he was taught to fall asleep. It is interesting that, strictly speaking, a violation of the association of falling asleep is not a sleep disorder in a child, since timely approach the quantity and quality of his sleep is not disturbed, but for parents of such behavior turns into a nightmare everynight, which may last up to 3 years of age.

To the right sleep associations that can help your child to sleep, is the so-called "objective mediator. This sort of thing, which is located next to the bed of the child during sleep. For infants it may be a diaper, preserving the scent of the mother, her milk, and for older children - a favorite toy. These items help to feel the connection with parents, calm down during the night waking the baby alone.