In a message dated 2/9/00 7:11:49 AM US Mountain Standard Time,
[log in to unmask] writes:

<< Most pediatricians do ask about sleeping during routine exams.  This is
usually, as Ms Abrams suggested, to find out if there are any issues
regarding sleep that the parents are concerned about.  It is also an
opportunity to reinforce what is normal, i.e., that a 2 month old should be
waking to feed at night despite misadvice that the parents might have been
given from neighbors, etc. >>

I can understand that the pediatrician needs a tool to do this. But most
parents assume when asked "Is your baby sleeping thru the night?" that this
is what their child should be doing at this age.  Would it not be more
accurate and less misleading to ask "What is your baby's nighttime sleep
pattern? Do you think there is a sleep problem? Why?"

When my first was an infant, I thought that if he wasn't doing what they were
asking -- sleep, solids, whatever-that he was behind. ( I quickly learned
otherwise). But yes no questions such as "is your child sleeping thru the
night" can easily be misinterpreted to mean "Your child should be sleeping
thru the night. Why isn't he? Come on defend your parenting and your child's
habits" and mislead parents in reguards to expectations of what the child can
or should be doing.

I hope I'm making sense here, I haven't had any coffee yet :)

Cheryl Tompkins CLC
Phoenix AZ USA

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