Parent preferences regarding their preschooler's sleep in early childhood education and care settings

  In Australia, approximately 50% of children aged 3–5 attend an Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) settings, and a daytime sleep/rest period is a prominent feature of  daily routines in many centres ( OECD 2013).  Children aged 3–5 typically have ceased to require a regular daytime nap and, as a consequence, most  who engage in daytime sleep are more likely to go to bed later and have more night waking than children who do not sleep ( Staton 2014). Children’s sleep disruptions can impact the family functioning and well-being  and , alongside, may also be a focus of conflict between parens and ECEC educators. Understand parent perspectives and the factors which influence parent preferences when considering daytime sleep/rest periods for their child is therefore important to both families and ECEC educators..   Previous research reports that parental decisions regarding children’s sleep patterns are influenced by various factors, including financial conditions, family size, cultural practices and beliefs, parent work schedules and child factors, to name a few. To date, no research has been conducted to examine a) parental preferences towards the daytime sleep/rest period in ECEC settings and b) the underlying reasons behind these preferences. We present analysis of data from E4Kids,a large, longitudinal project of preschool-aged children in Australia. Participants included Australian parents (N = 1302) of preschool aged children (aged 3–6.5) from metropolitan, regional and rural sites across two Australian states and included the diversity of social groups in Australia. Children participating in the study were enrolled in a range of ECEC services including long day care, kindergarten and family day care.  We utilised both quantitative and qualitative data obtained from parent-report questionnaires to document parental preferences regarding the day sleep/rest period in ECEC settings and to obtain their rationale for their preference. The association of these responses with demographic indicators, family/child factors and systemic, contextual factors were explored to assess their influence on parental desires towards preschool children’s day sleep routines. Conclusions: The results indicate that the large majority of parents do not want their preschool aged child to sleep while at ECEC programs but that regardless of preference child physical, social and emotional well-being is central to their underlying rationale The implications for family functioning, parent educator communication and children are discussed