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When a Toddler Snores
Could Your Child Have
Sleep Apnea?
Sleep Apnea?
By Harmony Cornwell
You might be thinking how cute it is that your toddler snores just like his or her daddy. But the big motor boat sounds your child makes when sleeping can signal complications like sleep apnea or can lead to behavior problems during the day.
"We used to think snoring itself was just benign; it turns out this is not so true," says Dr. Heidi Connolly, director of Pediatric Sleep Medicine Services at Strong Health in Rochester, N.Y. "[Snoring] is used as a marker for sleep apnea."
Dr. Connolly says that not all snorers have sleep apnea but their quality of sleep is affected and can result in children not getting enough shuteye through the night. Lack of quality sleep can lead to behavior problems during the day and academic difficulties further down the road.
Viola Schrantz from Minden, Nev., has a young son who suffered from sleep apnea, "He was in overdrive, hyperactive," she says. "He was tired all the time, but his actions were those of a child with ADHD [attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder]. He was cranky and hard to control."
Dr. Gary Freed, medical director of the Children's Sleep Lab and a researcher in infant sleep disorders based in Atlanta, Ga., says that this is typical behavior when you see snoring in toddlers. "[Young children] don't want to [take naps] and they start to get tired during the day," he says. "So they constantly switch focus to stay awake; it may appear that they are hyperactive."
The number of young children who snore is small and of that small group even less actually have sleep apnea. Dr. Freed says that 7 to 12 percent of toddlers snore, and 1 to 3 percent of this group is diagnosed with sleep apnea.