A MOTHER'S LULLABY MAKES A WORLD OF DIFFERENCE

I'll keep this story short and sweet.

It turns out that when mothers sing to their babies during pregnancy and after delivery, they and their infants are more securely attached, their babies sleep more, cry less, and suffer less colic than babies whose mothers didn't sing to them. Not surprisingly, the mothers of these healthier, happier babies experience less stress.

Mothers who sing lullabies have happier and healthier babies
Credit: makelessnoise

I won't go into all the details of the carefully designed study that found this lovely result, except to say that it took place in Italy, involved 168 expectant mothers and their babies, and showed that singing had remarkably powerful positive effects. For example, babies that were sung to were three times more likely to sleep well than babies who weren't, and were 40 percent less likely to suffer from colic.

The authors also note that the mothers enjoyed crooning lullabies-- " . . . the mothers continued to sing lullabies to their newborns and a remarkable percentage (93%) reported that this activity enriched the relationship with their babies." They also point out that the quality and security of parent-child bonding " . . . is of utmost importance for the development and well-being of the baby." As a psychologist, I would add that a positive parent-infant bond provides the best foundation for a healthy life.

It's delightful to be reminded that something as simple and natural as a mother singing lullabies to her baby can have such powerful, positive and long-lasting impacts.

USING SMARTPHONES OR TABLETS AT BEDTIME IMPAIRS CHILDREN'S SLEEP

If your children are among the 80-plus percent who have one or more media-linked devices in their bedrooms, they are also likely not to be sleeping long enough or deeply enough at night, and to be drowsy during the day.

Sleeping students/Credit: L. Krittaya

Public health researchers at Cardiff University, in Wales, scoured the research literature and found 20 studies involving more than 125,000 students that examined the link between sleep and the presence and use of screen media by children and adolescents worldwide. The results were unequivocal--use of such media at bedtime significantly reduced both the quality and quantity of sleep, and showed up in daytime drowsiness as well, compared to children without access to media at bedtime.

Writing in the October 31, 2016 issue of JAMA Pediatrics, the authors point out that degraded sleep isn't just a matter of a grouchy, hard-to-wake-child or nodding off in class. Impaired sleep in children is linked to poorer nutrition, obesity, weakened immunity, stunted growth and a variety of mental health issues.

“Sleep is an often undervalued but important part of children’s development," says lead author Ben Carter, from the Cardiff University School of Medicine. "With the ever growing popularity of portable media devices, such as smartphones and tablets, the problem of poor sleep amongst children is set to get worse."

Dr. Carter's prescription-- " . . . an integrated approach involving parents, teachers, and healthcare professionals . . . to improve sleep habits near bedtime.”

If you'ld like to read the full article, it's available for free here.