Sleep is a problem

Have things reached a problem point for your child’s sleep?

• Are they consistently having difficulty falling asleep, most nights of the week?
• Or perhaps in the middle of the night, are they waking up and struggling to fall back to sleep repeatedly?
• Have you noticed increasing difficulty with how they are functioning during the day? Maybe the mood has consistently been poor, they aren’t as interested in seeing their friends, or they may late for school some days.
• If your child was sleeping independently before, is it now a requirement that a parent be presen the same room, or sharing a bed with them at night?

If your family has gotten here, don’t lose hope. There is plenty to do to improve your child’s sleep. What matters the most now is consistently taking small but meaningful steps toward better sleep. It will take time to change how everyone in your family approaches sleep, but it is doable. The resources below (“Sleep tools & information”) can help.

Bring to the attention of your child’s team

We know there is a lot going on for families during maintenance therapy with so many different symptoms and side effects to keep track of, when the priority is getting your child back to good health. As a result, talking about bad sleep often is overlooked because there are so many other things that families feel are more important. Here are some oncology team-approved suggestions for how to bring up the issue of poor sleep with them:

1. Know that it’s OK to let your team know you are worried about sleep. Your Jimmy Fund Clinic nurses, doctors, and nurse practitioners can help you to troubleshoot sleep issues, but they need to know this is on your mind. They can help think through how to manage medication side effects (like constipation from vincristine) that impact sleep, if they know this is a problem.

2. When you are getting checked in for your child’s appointment and having vitals taken, let the CAs and nurse navigator know that poor sleep is something you’d like to discuss in your visit. This allows them to give your nurse practitioner, fellow, and/or attending physician a heads-up to discuss sleep during your visit.

3. Your nurse navigator is a great first provider to talk to about sleep issues. They are experts in helping families troubleshoot medication side effects, challenges to daily routines, and other common problems that impact sleep during treatment.

Sleep tools & information

What does sleep really look like for your child?

Track your child’s sleep with this print sleep diary. After tracking for a week or more, use the online sleep calculator to see their sleep statistics.

Get help with treatment-related sleep side effects:

Some medications affect sleep. Learn more about these effects.

How much sleep does my child need?

Children all need a different amount of sleep. Determine the right amount for your child.

Sleep myths, mistakes, & tips

5 common sleep myths: Many long-held beliefs about sleep turn out not to be true. Learn common sleep myths.

4 frequent sleep mistakes: Learn about sleep-related mistakes families may make and how to overcome them.

9 sleep tips: Get the top strategies families shared about helping their children sleep better.