Skip to main content
Home
Pediatric Medical Traumatic Stress
  • Home
  • Trauma-informed pediatric care

    What is Pediatric Medical Traumatic Stress?

    • The basics
    • Prevalence & course
    • Traumatic stress symptoms
    • Risk factors
    • Understanding the family's experience
    • Key research findings

    How to Provide Trauma-Informed Care

    • The basics
    • D-E-F framework
    • Levels of risk and trauma-informed care
    • Timeline for trauma-informed care
    • Referral to mental health care
    • Addressing health disparities
    • Developmental considerations
    • Cultural considerations

    Self Care & Secondary Trauma

    • The basics
    • Self care tips
    • Organizational support
  • Find information for..
    • The healthcare team
    • Physicians-PAs-NPs
    • Nurses
    • Pre-hospital providers
    • Medical interpreters
    • Mental health professionals
    • Child welfare professionals
    • Child Life Professionals
  • Professional Education
    • Take a Free Online Course
    • Other education resources
  • Find Tools and Resources

    Patient Education

    Patient Education

    • For parents & caregivers
    • For children & teens

    Screening & Assessment

    Screening & Assessment

    • The basics
    • Find screening & assessment tools
    • Screening after pediatric injury
    • Psychosocial Assessment Tool (PAT)
    • Acute Stress Checklist (ASC-Kids)
    • Family Illness Beliefs Inventory (FIBI)

    Intervention

    Intervention

    • The basics
    • Surviving Cancer Competently (SCCIP)
    • Cellie Coping Kit

    Trauma-Informed Care

    Trauma-Informed Care

    • The basics
    • TIC Provider Survey
    • Observation Checklist - Pediatric Resuscitation

    COVID-19

    COVID-19

    • COVID-19
    • Resources for healthcare staff
    • COVID-19 Exposure and Family Impact Scales (CEFIS)
    • Helping my child cope

    Resources

    Resources

    • More resources
  • For Patients and Families
    • Coping with injury or illness
    • Sleep
    • Pain
    • Behavior
    • Worries & fears
    • Quiet or withdrawn
    • School
    • Siblings
    • Parents
    • Need more help?
    • Family voices

Sleeping Problems

 
child - sleep problems after medical trauma

Are you worried because your child:

  • Has trouble falling asleep, staying asleep, or waking in the morning?
  • Has bad dreams or nightmares?

In the hospital, things like noise, vital sign checks, pain, and worries can cause sleep problems. At home, sleep problems may persist due to disruptions in your child's schedule and routines. Pain, worries, and other thoughts that make it hard to relax cay also make sleep problems worse.

How can you help your child sleep?

Promote healthy sleep patterns
  • When your child is in the hospital, sleep is an important part of healing, so talk with the health care team about what can be done to promote and protect your child’s sleep as much as possible. For example, keeping the room dark and limiting entry to the room during your child's typical sleep hours.
Bad dreams can be a normal response
  • Help your child understand that bad dreams can be a natural response when things are stressful or scary, and will probably get better with time.
  • If bad dreams wake your child in the night, listen (briefly) to what was in their dreams, give them a hug and reassure them that they are safe, then help them get back to sleep.
At home, set up (or continue) regular bedtime routines
  • Regular bedtime routines can help your child relax before falling asleep.
  • Work with your child to create bedtime routines that make sense for your family.
  • For younger kids, read a story or spend quiet time together just before tucking them into bed.
  • For older children and teens, help them create good sleep habits and routines, like going to bed at the same time every night, reading before bed instead of being on electronics, and help them take charge of following these routines themselves.
Manage pain
  • If your child has pain that is making it hard to fall asleep or waking them up during the night, talk with your child’s nurse or doctor about controlling pain at bedtime and through the night.
Keep a list of concerns and questions
  • If your child is losing sleep most nights for more than a week because of bad dreams, pain,or other reasons, it’s a good idea to talk with your child’s nurse or doctor about it.

Helpful Resources:

  • Sleep Routine Aids for Children
  • National Sleep Foundation (Teens)
  • Does my child need talk to someone?
  • Do I need to talk to someone?
field_image
Quick links
  • About Us
  • Ethics & Compliance
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use
Quick Contact
  • cpts@chop.edu
  • 3401 Civic Center Blvd.
    Philadelphia, PA 19104

Subscribe to Health Care Toolbox

CHOP Nemours Logo NCTSN Logo Award 2012

© 2021 Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. All Rights Reserved.