​My idea for today's topic is to write about the effects of sleep deprivation.  There begins the investigation and found this study were the sample was of 2.463 kids between ages 6 -15  and the result suggests that kids with sleep related problems show inadvertent napping, inattention, hyperactivity/impulsivity.
 
Then this other study concludes that kids with current Sleep Disordered Breathing (SDB) “exhibited hyperactivity, attention problems, aggressivity, lower social competency, poorer communication, and/or diminished adaptive skills”.​

As you can see there are plenty of symptoms that fit in both conditions, Could the sleep disorder be mistaken for ADHD or could the ADHD be causing the sleep disorder?
 
Nowadays diagnoses of children -and adults- with Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are on the rising. It seems to be the answer to many stressed families that struggle to keep their kids calm and to adults who have problem getting up in the morning and keeping their life organised. Truth is that we are all more distracted than ever before with the technology present in every step of our lives. It makes it difficult to stay focused and unplug when we need to. 
But ADHD symptoms can be shown when other conditions are present such as “undiagnosed vision and hearing problems, substance abuse (marijuana and alcohol in particular), iron deficiency, allergies (especially airborne and gluten intolerance), bipolar and major depressive disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder and even learning disabilities like dyslexia, to name a few” says behavioural neurologist, Dr. Richard Saul  in  this article.

​So, yes I would say that the similarities in the symptoms could lead to misdiagnoses; especially when most health providers are not educated in sleep healthy habits (same way they are not experts on breastfeeding for example) plus it is a cultural believe that it is normal that kids don’t sleep. Sadly the situation make families even feel guilty for wanting to have a decent night sleep ending in sleep related problems sink for years and medical conditions are not taken in notice.
 
Sleep Disordered Breathing (SBD) conditions for instant can cause long term effects. A longitudinal study done in more than 11.000 children from age 6 months old to 7 years concludes that “early-life SDB symptoms had strong, persistent statistical effects on subsequent behaviour in childhood. Findings suggest that SDB symptoms may require attention as early as the first year of life.”​

The Sleep Lady in this article suggests what I paraphrase in here:

• Check how much your child needs to sleep and how much sleep is he actually getting. Recommendations by age 
• Is your child remaining awake without having a nap or quiet time for too long? How do you know is too long? Keep reading..
• Know their cues! Is like a roller coaster. When they are needing to sleep they would often slow down, lack in focus and prefer quiet activities. When they are overtired is then too late that they would seem cranky, wired and would be more difficult for them to sleep.
• Are you having an appropriate bedtime and wake up time? Despite our efforts most children would go to bed later and they would wake up earlier. Children who go to bed too late often wake up during the night and then sleep in during the morning, end up resisting naps and showing a lot off these symptoms that I've been talking about.
• Limit things that disrupt sleep such as screen time, high on sugar or caffeine food close to bedtime.

 I would add that is not just a matter of quantity but quality. I remember from were I come from, we were often told when a baby was around and was time to sleep that they was not reason "to put the music down" because they should get used to sleep like that. I mean, seriously? Could you as an adult sleep through a party? It is not fair at all nor healthy. Watch for their signs and make sure your child is having a good quality sleep. 

To rule out any SDB condition, look at your child, observe them in their awake and sleep. You need to look for snoring, loud breathing or apparently stop breathing. You can ask your health provider to check your child's tonsils and adenoids to verify that their size is not causing any disturbance in their sleep. Follow your instincts and get the appropriate help you and your family needs.
Best regards, 

​Hi!
First of all, welcome to my page!  And Happy Fathers Day to all the lovely dad’s out there.

This first post is dedicated to them, or sort of. Recently I came across to this post Stress: Husbands A Bigger Source Of Stress Than Kids For Nearly Half Of Moms (well actually a Spanish version of it) and I could feel totally related with it. I mean I have 4 kids, the two girls I was pregnant with, my husband and the dog –as most people say-. Yeah, that can be frustrating!

So, I remembered a day when talking with one of my therapists, I was explaining to her how much my husband helps. I explained that he does the dishes, he bathes the girls, he takes them to the park, he cooks, he hangs clothes, he plays and reads books at night, etc. Yep, there I was, all so proud to have found such a lovely man that I want to punch in the face every now and then.. (shhhh!)
She said -“Wait, he actually does not help”-, and I thought -“oh my! I, babbling in spanglish again and she didn’t get word of what I was saying :/?”-  Then she said: -“No, no I hear you, But he is not helping YOU!-”

I was shocked. I mean I already felt lucky, because I know in others families and cultures the expectations are low below, daddy usually just works even when mama also does. So, what was she trying to say then? What else could he do? -“Exactly!”- she said, -“He does what he’s supposed to do!”-. You don’t help as a mother to feed your child or change a diaper, you just do it because forms part of a being a mum. Take care of your kids, keep them clean, healthy and happy is not helping your husband. Why do we woman insist that the father should help, like they are a less parent than we are?

The father should be a father, that’s all.  If you ask a mum what her work is, she’ll say: being a mum and maybe a wife and she also works in an office during the week. If you ask about daddy, daddy works. He is tired. Wait, what?

Daddy is a parent. Daddy is not there to help mummy. Daddy is there to raise children, with you or alone. Or with another daddy. This article talks about it, when we see the father as a support for us and no as a part of a team. It’s curious that this despair is not only seeing in heterosexual relationships, but also in lesbian couples with kids. So, why is that?
For me it was like a revelation. The deal is that when we underestimate the father relationship with the kids, we make it always less and that doesn’t really help them to make them feel good enough to at least try to be the father we want them to be they want to be!

Since that day I started noticing that that’s the way we referred to the father’s: -he helps a lot- or -just a bit-. -No, he doesn’t help- Or he is not even around-. It’s our responsibility as a partner to let them be feel part of it. Bit by bit let them create that special bond with the kids, because even though they spent 9 months inside of us they would say dada first, (both of mine did it -.-!) Our kids deserve that, and we parents deserve that also.

I part knew that whoever I choose to be married with should “help” around the house. I never realised that is not a matter of help but commitment was I was looking for. A person committed to his family.

So, you get it right? How do you change it then? Because, and I know, if you don’t ask for help they don’t know what to do! Easy: make a list of things that has to be done. Let them choose, even the kids can have a chore. Is not about you sharing –your- chores (as a mum) but about all the family working together to achieve their goals.
And what does all of this have to do with sleep training? Well, a lot more that what you think, most of the time we mothers are so tired of rocking, shushing, leaving our bed at the middle of the night to go check on the kids, that we don’t give even a chance to the daddy’s to try. I can even hear some voices saying “of course because they don’t know what to do!!”, but, what if we let them find their way? Their gentle father way?! Let’s leave them connect with their kids and read them, find solutions and let them surprise us! Let’s give them a chance to parent!

So there you go, to my husband that doesn’t help, my apologies for underestimating you,
You are a great Daddy!
To my father and to the others father’s that don’t help I wish you all a Happy Fathers Day!
Best Regards,​