UBC Study: Sleep Regulations for Childcare Vary Widely
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A new UBC study has found that sleep regulations for licensed childcare facilities vary widely across Canadian provinces and territories, often leaving centres without clear guidelines to support children’s needs.
The study, led by pediatric sleep expert and nursing professor emeritus Dr. Wendy Hall, concluded that “consistent national standards about sleep and rest are necessary to ensure children’s health and well-being, particularly in early care settings”.
In an interview with Lou Bosshart for the UBC News site Health & Medicine news, Dr Hall spoke about significant disparities in sleep-related regulations across provinces and territories, noting that “BC regulations lack specific guidelines about general or daily sleep programming, focusing instead on maintaining a safe sleep environment through factors like positioning, equipment safety and prohibited practices”. The study also found that, whilst there are operating manuals available to help licensees interpret regulations, many manuals are years out of date.
Given that 56% of children in Canada are in some form of childcare and an additional 26% are on waitlists, Dr. Hall expressed concern that “the lack of consistent regulations creates confusion regarding the appropriate number and length of naps/rest periods for children, particularly across various age groups. Although naps are crucial for development, many centres prioritize only one rest period per day, which may not meet infants’ needs or may exceed needs of three- to four-year-olds.”
There is also variation amongst jurisdictions over the definition of “infant”, varying from 12 to 24 months, which affects the provision of adequate sleep space and equipment.
Dr. Hall also expressed concerns around equity, in that children who live in crowded or noisy situations may not sleep as long at night and would benefit particularly from access to naps in the day.
She recommends The Canadian 24-hour movement guidelines as a starting point for developing national policy. The guidelines, which integrate children’s physical activity, sedentary time and sleep, recommend naps for infants and children under two years, and nap options for ages three to four.
Dr. Hall suggests organizations supporting early child development could help by advocating for consistent national sleep policy development, and that parents “can monitor their child’s sleep patterns, talk to childcare providers about their child’s needs, and familiarize themselves with sleep guidelines” to help raise the importance of the issue.