Nap schedules and sleep practices in infant-toddler groups

Early Childhood Research Quarterly 16 (2001) 453– 474

Nap schedules and sleep practices in infant-toddler groups Helena Siren-Tiusanena,*, Helja¨ Antola Robinsonb a

LIKES Research Center, Rautpohjankatu 10, FIN-40700 Jyva¨skyla¨, Finland b Bradley University, 1501 West Bradley Ave., Peoria, IL 61625, USA

Abstract This article describes and analyzes sleep-wake schedules and nap times in multiage infant-toddler groups through three case studies based on ethnographic research conducted in two Finnish day care centers. The study asks how day care centers and homes in collaboration can protect children’s biological sleep-wake rhythms and the physiological effectiveness of sleep. Data were derived through participant-observation in the groups, taped interviews with staff and parents, and sleep diaries kept by the parents. Findings show some of the complex interactions among family daily patterns, day care patterns, and sleep disturbances in very young children. The findings further show that major differences exist in day care practices regarding the quality of sleep and its physiological effectiveness. These differences are related to three issues: (1) whether the timing of naps in the multiage group is simultaneous or staggered in an age-appropriate and individually appropriate manner; (2) how efficiently the home/day care personnel communicate with one another; and (3) what is the awareness level of the day care staff about the significance of the sleep environment. The article further discusses the team aspect of protective practices, differences between caregivers and their differences in organizing work, as well as implications for further research and for caregiver training. © 2001 Elsevier Science Inc. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction At this time little research exists about group schedules and practices in infant-toddler day care. Despite the scarcity of research, the topic of sleep is addressed in the standards for developmentally appropriate practices (Bredekamp, 1987; Bredekamp & Copple, 1997). These standards emphasize daily rhythms in scheduling of the group. With this emphasis in mind, early childhood educators and caregivers should provide a balance between the need

* Corresponding author. Tel.: ⫹358-14-626309; fax: ⫹358-14-625843 E-mail address: [email protected] (H. Siren-Tiusanen). 0885-2006/01/$ – see front matter © 2001 Elsevier Science Inc. All rights reserved. PII: S 0 8 8 5 - 2 0 0 6 ( 0 1 ) 0 0 1 1 9 - 3

454

H.Siren-Tiusanen, H. Robinson / Early Childhood Research Quarterly 16 (2001) 453– 474

for rest and active movement throughout the program day. According to Field (1994), group schedules should support sleep-wake rhythms and other biological rhythms of children to avoid overstimulation. In Finland all preschool-age children, including infants and toddlers, are guaranteed by law the right to full day care services. In the 1980s, separate six-member groups for infants were the prevailing standard practice. The standards, however, were later modified so that infants now live in multiage groups that include infant-toddlers with ages ranging from ten months to three years of age (parental leave in Finland ends when the child is ten months old). Infant-toddler multiage groups have been limited to 12 children, although in recent years guidelines concerning group size have been modified and are now expressed in adult-child ratios. The Finnish day care system ranks high in quality when compared with that of other countries in terms of its caregiver-child ratio and its training requirements for early childhood educators (Cochran, 1993; Hujala-Huttunen, 1996). The caregiver-child ratio in infanttoddler groups in day care centers complies with the NAEYC standards (Kontos & WilcoxHerzog, 1997). Professional training is available through a variety of programs. Traditional educators are caregivers trained in 2.5 year nursing programs focused on infant-toddler care. Since the end of the 1980s, early childhood teachers with three-year pedagogical training have started working in infant-toddler groups as well. In groups containing twelve children, the responsible team typically includes an early childhood teacher and two caregivers. During the last ten years, day care centers have focused on creating worker clusters aiming at well-organized, democratically-run teams regardless of the basic training of each individual in the group of educators. Working time is generally accomplished in shifts: some work the morning, some the mid-day and some the afternoon shift. Teams of professionals are in charge of children’s napping schedules. In this article we use case studies to examine how sleep-wake schedules, sleeping practices and nap times in multiage infant-toddler groups may or may not fit with the children’s age-specific natural sleep-wake rhythms and their needs for rest. What makes it so difficult to synchronize children’s schedules with their biological rhythms and to protect the physiological efficiency of sleep? We begin with a theoretical overview of sleep rhythms, of the restorative functions of sleep, and of the significance of sleep practices, followed by an introduction to the concept of infant-toddler group schedules. The concept of developmental appropriateness is interwoven in the case presentations and later discussion. 1.1. Sleep-wake patterns and the restorative functions of sleep Despite the importance of sleep as a vital aspect of children’s development and learning, there is not much research related to their nap times and sleep-wake patterns in infant-toddler groups. It is clear that infants and toddlers sleep for much longer than adults. These long hours are essential both for physical growth and maturation and for the consolidation of early emotional and cognitive development. As well as sleeping longer, infants and toddlers also have different sleeping patterns from those of an adult (Daws, 1993; Ferber & Kryger, 1995; Weissbluth, 1987). Two biorhythms define the temporal organization of sleep: (1) a circadian sleep-wake

H.Siren-Tiusanen, H. Robinson / Early Childhood Research Quarterly 16 (2001) 453– 474

455

rhythm, and (2) an ultradian REM - NREM (non-REM) rhythm (Anders & Taylor, 1994). The circadian rhythm is the innate daily fluctuation of physiological and behavioral functions including sleeping and waking. It is generally tied to the 24-hour day- night cycle, and it includes the position of the nocturnal sleep phase and the frequency and timing of naps (Daws, 1993; Ferber & Kryger, 1995). The ultradian (less than 24-hour) REM sleep cycle is a highly aroused state of brain activity. The ultradian NREM sleep cycle is a highly synchronized, inhibited, and recuperative state. In infancy, these two sleep cycles and sleep states often are referred to as active sleep and quiet sleep (Anders & Taylor, 1994; Anders, Sadeh, & Appareddy, 1995; Ferber & Kryger, 1995). Circadian and ultradian sleep rhythms undergo rapid changes throughout the first two years of life. The circadian pattern, in other words diurnal organization in sleep-wake alteration, is usually apparent by 6 weeks of age and is quite stable by 3 months. By six months of age, the longest continuous sleep period has lengthened to six hours. The wakeful periods similarly consolidate, lengthen, and shift to the day time, interrupted by periods of sleep. By the end of the first year, the infant still sleeps 14 –15 hours out of 24. Taking two naps is a well-established practice for most children in the 9 –12 month range, and napping once a day becomes the norm in the 15- 24 month range (de Roquefeuil, Djakovic, & Montagner, 1993; Weissbluth, 1995). During the second year of life, infants sleep 50% of the 24 hour period (Anders & Taylor, 1994). According to Ferber (Ferber & Kryger, 1995), the elimination of a nap too early, before age 2.5 or 3 years, may leave the child overtired and physically stressed and may cause an increase in nighttime awakings. Wake times are then too long and overstimulating (Weissbluth, 1987, 1989). To get the benefit of all the restorative functions of sleep, a child needs to remain asleep long enough to complete each ultradian REM and NREM sleep cycle (Daws, 1993). Besides being detrimental to children, fragmented sleep is detrimental even to adult functioning during the day in relation to their work efficiency and mood (Stores, 1996). The physiological efficiency of the nap is determined by the timing, consistency, length, and physical conditions of the nap, and whether the wakings are spontaneous or induced (Ferber & Kryger, 1995). Children get the diurnal rest they need when the following four items are in proper balance: (1) the total sleep schedule, (2) the total sleep duration, (3) the naps, and (4) the sleep consolidation (Weissbluth, 1987,1989). However, according to Weissbluth (1989), insufficient or no attention is given in child care to the importance of naps and schedules. Nap deprivation seems to be the major culprit in ruining healthy sleep patterns. When adults allow poor quality sleep patterns to emerge and persist, significant sleep deficits gradually accumulate. According toWeissbluth (1987, 1989) timing is most important: quality sleep thus means unbroken sleep occurring at the right times. In optimal circumstances, sleep restores energies, combats fatigue, and increases efficiency and learning capacity (Weissbluth, 1987,1989). According to Daws (1993), NREM sleep has a restorative function in maintaining the immune system and in nurturing physical growth. At the same time, REM sleep has a restorative function with respect to systems of focused attention—the ability to focus on one thing at a time. The ability to maintain an optimistic mood, energy, self-confidence and the ability to adapt emotionally to the physical and social environment are also affected by REM sleep (Daws, 1993; Weissbluth, 1987,1989). The restorative functions of sleep are summarized in Table 1.

456

H.Siren-Tiusanen, H. Robinson / Early Childhood Research Quarterly 16 (2001) 453– 474

Table 1 The restorative functions of NREM- and REM-sleep Ultradian rhythm

Restorative function

NREM-sleep

Maintaining the immune system Nurturing physical growth Focused attention: the ability to focus on one thing at a time The ability to maintain an optimistic mood,energy and self-confidence The ability to adapt emotionally to the physical and social environment

REM-sleep

Benefits of sleep are obvious, and thus the consequences of disrupted sleep are cause for concern. According to investigations of Montagner et al. (Montagner, Restoin, & Henry, 1982; Montagner, de Roquefeuil, & Djakovic, 1992), stress hormone levels in infant-toddler day care groups decreased in the afternoon after napping. Stress disrupts sleep rhythms at any age. Newborns, older children, and adults respond to a variety of acute stresses with shifts in sleep-wake state organization, including decreased amounts of REM sleep, increased amounts of wakefulness, and fragmentation of sleep continuity (Anders et al., 1995). Fragmented sleep and the breakdown of circadian synchronization mean qualitatively worse sleep in all humans, but especially so for infants and toddlers, for whom such sleep is not physiologically efficient (Weissbluth, 1987). According to Ferber (1996), this difference is less because of neurophysiological differences between the two groups than because of children’s greater level of dependency. Young children make few decisions on their own, and, as a result, adult-child interactions at home and in day care groups become connected intimately to the child’s sleep process at bedtime and throughout the night or nap. Adult desires and expectations are at least as important as those of the child in determining the patterns of sleep. Sleeping is not an automatically regulated process (Weissbluth, 1987), and thus the larger cultural context influences sleep practices (Cofer et al., 1999; Field, Kilmer, Hernandez-Reif, & Burman, 1994; Koch, Soussignan, & Montagner, 1984; Montagner et al., 1982; Ottaviano et al., 1996; Weissbluth, 1995). Especially in modern urban environments, children’s sleepwake patterns have become increasingly problematic (Anders & Taylor, 1994; Anders et al., 1995; Kawasaki et al., 1994; Ottaviano et al., 1996). According to Ottaviano et al. (1996) healthy Italian children from middle class backgrounds, aged from birth to 6 years and residing in the urban area of Rome, had later sleep onset time and slept less than children of the same age living in some other countries. According to the interpretation of these researchers, the results may reflect certain social habits of the families, such as allowing their children to participate in the family’s evening life, including a late dinner. Adult interruption of natural sleep rhythms also can be seen in the practice of ending naps, when naps get scheduled out before the child is ready. According to Weissbluth’s study (1995), napping ended naturally in 65% of the children and was stopped by the parents in 33% of the children. Sleep disturbances are easily developed during infant-toddler years. The children’s superb adaptability allows them to switch rapidly from being “good sleepers” to being “bad sleepers” and vice versa. The child may learn, for example, a pattern of frequent nighttime wakings after only a few nights of disturbed sleep, caused by a transient sleep disruption such as otitis or travel (Ferber & Kryger, 1995). Even though children can sleep

H.Siren-Tiusanen, H. Robinson / Early Childhood Research Quarterly 16 (2001) 453– 474

457

well in more settings and under more circumstances than adults, their ability to ignore disrupting influences from the environment has a limit. The biggest problems occur in cramped and chaotic settings. Home or day care settings may present noise from the outside or from inside, for example adults laughing and talking or people coming and going. At home a child can be inadvertently wakened by a parent who comes home from work late each night as the child is about to fall asleep, or by a parent who gets up early each morning before the child would be waking naturally (Ferber & Kryger, 1995). Parents’ complaints about bedtime difficulties, naptime problems, nighttime wakings, or early morning wakings of their children may be explained by many causes including personal factors, nonrealistic expectations, their uncertainty as educators, lack of knowledge about age-dependent variations in sleep patterns, and low threshold in tolerating stress and in tolerating the natural age-typical behavior of their children. An adult’s inability to construct consistent daily routines and appropriate bed-time procedures significantly affects the sleep problems of infant-toddlers. For example, naptime per se may not even exist in some families (Anders & Taylor, 1994; Ferber & Kryger, 1995). Stabilization of circadian rhythms can occur only if sleep schedules and routines are kept consistent. As in the adult shift worker, frequently changing routines at any age means inconsistent sleep and less than optimal function during wakefulness (Ferber & Kryger, 1995; Weissbluth, 1987,1989). 1.2. Infant-toddler group schedules Developmentally appropriate practices require complex professional decisions (Bredekamp & Copple, 1997; Smith, 1996; Wien, 1996). NAEYC defines developmentally appropriate practices as resulting from the process of professionals making decisions about the well-being and education of children based on at least three important kinds of information: (1) what is known about child development; (2) what is known about the individuality of each child; and (3) knowledge of the social and cultural contexts in which children live. Because responsiveness to children as individuals requires knowing them and their families well, the NAEYC position statement encourages early childhood programs to support development of relationships among teachers, children, and families (Bredekamp & Copple, 1997). Field (1994) describes practices dealing with the care and organization in one infant nursery where a single issue was chosen as a focus of practices, namely the adaptability of the daily routines and schedules to individual uniqueness. One head teacher and parents believed that all infants should be on their own schedules. According to Field the infants were constantly crying and spitting up, and the caregivers were exhausted as a result of the choice. The daily routine of this group was described as chaotic, with the absence of secure regularity and consistency. The next director, in contrast, believed that a disorganized environment contributed to disorganized babies. Within one week she had all sixteen infants in the group on a regular eating and napping schedule. Recurring routines can be beneficial, but they can also become part of a tight clock schedule which Wien (1996) calls a rigid production schedule. The rigid routinized schedule or time-table is, according to Wien, generally a tacit practice. It requires that the children regardless of their age and individual needs adjust to the tight schedule and large group

458

H.Siren-Tiusanen, H. Robinson / Early Childhood Research Quarterly 16 (2001) 453– 474

processes in simultaneous activity (Wien, 1996). The coordination of the work of teachers with teacher breaks and the organization of work in shifts with precise times for breaks and precise times for direct contact with the children are reasons for a rigid production schedule. The tight clock schedule is also connected to the press of keeping the day care institutions functioning (Wien, 1996). Leavitt (1994) points out in her study that tightly scheduled practices reflect the disciplinary structure of the program and may be tied to problematic power relations within the day care center. Predetermined schedules are often seen as more important than the physical and emotional needs of the children. According to Leavitt (1994), extractive power in day care settings stems from conflicting cultural values in the society. Ideas about efficiency, control, and objectivity are widespread in cultures where technological know-how is highly valued. In addition to this limiting and detrimental side of caregiving, Leavitt’s (Leavitt 1994) study also includes examples of transformative power, in which children are regarded as developing persons. Wien’s (Wein 1996) work also shows that the rigid production schedules are not the only choice in organizing the children’s days. In her research study, one of the teachers along with her colleagues had consciously transformed the organization of time as a production schedule and reorganized all aspects of her program (including time) to aim at greater developmental appropriateness. For this teacher, time was a subordinate aspect, becoming a priority only at the points of arrival, lunch, nap, and departure. The order of events in the day was predictable, but their timing was more connected to the rhythms of children. Wien suggested that a program aiming to be more developmentally appropriate might reexamine time organized as a production schedule. In the following report, we examine how sleep-wake schedules, sleeping practices and nap times in multiage infant-toddler groups may or may not fit with the children’s age-specific natural sleep-wake rhythms and their individual needs of rest. How do they protect the physiological efficiency of sleep?

2. Setting and methodology This article is derived from a larger ethnographic study carried out in infant-toddler day care groups in two Finnish day care centers (Siren-Tiusanen, 1996). Naturalistic observations were conducted in Tenhola and Vuoksela day care centers, which are located fairly close to one another in a city environment. Before the actual fieldwork Helena, the primary writer, became familiar with the 30 infant-toddler groups by observing each environment for 1–1.5 hours, and by interviewing one of the caregivers in each day care center. At this point she started negotiating a possible entry to Tenhola day care center which, unlike the other centers, had two infant-toddler groups and where Tellervo, a key informant in the study, was one of the caregivers. Helena learned of Tellervo’s expertise when Helena was facilitating staff development as a consultant. Tenhola day care center is a traditional day care center in the center of a mid-sized city (using the Finnish scale of cities, population about 76,000) and the second oldest day care program in the whole city. The city center included many families with infants or toddlers whose mothers worked outside of the home. The Tenhola day care center had room for a

H.Siren-Tiusanen, H. Robinson / Early Childhood Research Quarterly 16 (2001) 453– 474

459

hundred children. One of the infant-toddler groups consisted of twelve younger children ranging from 10 –24 months old. In the second group, the majority of children were the 2–3 year olds. Both groups had their own rooms for eating and sleeping and separate restrooms as well as space for washing children and clothing. Vuoksela day care center is situated at the edge of the center of a small city (population about 30,000). It served 52 children, including one infant-toddler group. This infant-toddler group had a spacious and functional physical environment: dining room, sleeping room, restroom and washroom, their own entry from the outside with space to change clothing and their own outside playground. Helena started intensive participant observation at the beginning of the spring semester. In the spring she participated in the Peipot infant-toddler group (naming the groups is customary in Finnish childcare) of Tenhola day care and in the Vuoksela infant-toddler group once a week for five months. She randomly observed during different days of the week in each group. During these observations she stayed with each group for a minimum of 4 –5 hours. In the beginning of the fieldwork, she also interviewed the staff. These interviews were taped. These taped interviews functioned as a means to focus data gathering on specific individual children in order to increase the specificity of information about their lives in the day care center. In the beginning the interviews had as many team members (caregivers and teachers) present as possible. Helena also interviewed parents of the children who were observed in order to focus data gathering more closely. Parents of all children kept a sleep rhythm diary based on their child’s behavior during specific times. Helena kept field notes of her observations and of the informal discussions between the staff members and the parents and among staff members, when such discussions were relevant to individual children and/or research themes. She completed her field notes immediately after departing the day care as suggested by Corsaro (1985) and transcribed them electronically. After summer vacation both day care centers had staff changes in their infant-toddler groups. In Vuoksela the majority of children and caregivers moved to the 3– 6-year-old group, and Helena focused in her study at that time on the Tenhola day care center. She participated in the life of two new infant-toddler groups, called Punatulkut and Tervapa¨ a¨ skyt, every day of the week for five months. In addition to the new children, the Tervapa¨ a¨ skyt group had many children from the Peipot group from the previous spring. Tellervo worked with the Punatulkut group. Helena spent her time alternately in each group, typically one or two weeks at a time in each group. She took field notes as a participant observer every day, usually until the parents came and started picking up their children. Besides this observation she also interviewed team members but focused on using key informants. These key informants were staff members who had more knowledge and experience about children and their families. Interactions with Helena had an empowering effect on some of them, especially on Tellervo, the most active of the key informants. Helena continued taping interviews even after the intensive field work in order to confirm or question ideas emerging from the data analysis. Helena also continued taping interviews with target children’s parents. The transcribed data including field notes and taped interviews totaled about 600 hours of data. The four cases described in this article are constructed through a recursive process based on the empirical data, permitting categories to emerge from the complete data sets for each infant-toddler group and its staff.

460

H.Siren-Tiusanen, H. Robinson / Early Childhood Research Quarterly 16 (2001) 453– 474

3. The cases Each of the groups described here was an infant-toddler multiage grouping, and all of the children were Finnish. Names used for the day care center and children here are pseudonyms. The majority of the parents were professionals or students with a regular working day from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., resulting in an 8.5 - 9 hour child-care day. The group did, however, include some parents with irregular working hours or parents doing shift work. The child-care groups differed in the nature of the adults’ training and in the length of their experience working together before to the study. 3.1. The Vuoksela infant-toddler group: the schedule for the 6-month old’s two daily naps in combination with the simultaneous schedule for the larger group 3.1.1. Child group, staff, and sleep environment At the time Helena began her field work, the ages of the children in the Vuoksela group varied from 5 months to 3 years, 11 months. The 5 month-old baby was in the day care center for special educational reasons; as noted earlier, in Finland infants typically do not enter child care until 10 months. In addition to the baby, there were two girls from 1 to 2 years of age, one of them Leena (12 months). Most of the children in the group were older. The majority were aged 2–3, but there were also some 3– 4 years olds, an age usually placed in groups for 3– 6 year olds in Finnish day-care centers. The staff members were Kaisu, an early childhood teacher, and Pirkko and Inkeri, the caregivers (see earlier description of Finnish distinctions between “teachers” and “caregivers”). A long-term auxiliary was a trainee preparing for work in the day-care field. The staff members had been in their profession for 5–30 years, Pirkko having also worked in hospital wards for children. The adults in the team knew one another well. The daily nap routine was the responsibility of those in the afternoon shift. There was, however, flexibility in the division of labor for the members of the team, with everybody standing in for one another in case of need. The nap room was large, clearly larger than the dining room. The beds were two-tiered wooden bunk beds, situated along the walls of the bedroom. Each child in the group had a bed of his/her own, with open space in the middle of the room. During the daily nap, the baby’s carriage was placed in a quiet place adjacent to the wall, by the window, where he could easily be seen by the adults inside. For practical purposes, the toilet-washroom was located adjacent to the dining room and the vestibule to avoid causing undue noise with movement close to the nap room. Due to its spacious nature, the nap room had become a playroom dear to the children. 3.1.2. Nap schedule Everybody except the baby usually went to bed between 11:30 and 11:50. The person in charge of the nap read them a fairy-tale, a common practice in Finnish day-care centers for children 3– 6 years of age. The baby was awake at mid-day, when everyone else was asleep. According to the interviews with the early childhood teacher and the caregivers, the long-term assisting staff member enabled the baby to have his two naps integrated into the

H.Siren-Tiusanen, H. Robinson / Early Childhood Research Quarterly 16 (2001) 453– 474

461

schedule of the rest of the group. The staff showed flexibility in the timing of the baby’s naps, depending on his need for sleep from day to day. For instance, they put him to bed earlier in the morning on days when he had awakened exceptionally early, at 5:30 a.m. Pirkko told Helena that the baby had joined the group in the middle of the year, at a time when the youngest of the group at the time, Leena, now 12 months old, had just acquired a nap routine similar to the rest of the group. The day-care staff members were not as flexible with Leena’s needs for sleep as they were with the baby’s. Helena’s field notes show that Leena was overtired when the group was outside in the morning, at times falling asleep in her stroller. The adults let her sleep for just a few minutes, to keep her in step with the schedule of the rest of the children. At 9:50 Leena was already outside in her stroller when her eyelids began to droop. Pirkko went to her and said, “Are you asleep, Leena. Not yet!” To Kaisu, a little further away, she said, “If she sleeps now, she won’t sleep in the daytime. This has happened occasionally. Let her just have a 5–10 minute snooze.” Some seven minutes later, Pirkko woke Leena up. During their time outside, Kaisu and Pirkko noted that Leena had awakened early in the morning and had come to the day-care center shortly after seven, whereas she usually comes at 7:30. She did not take her nap until two hours later, about 11:40, being the last child in the group to do so.

In the morning, Leena usually came in from playing outside earlier than the rest of the group. She also began her lunch earlier than the rest of the group, when one of the adults, usually Kaisu, was with the 2–3 year olds in the nap room, singing or playing. Leena’s daytime nap was not, however, adjusted to take place earlier than that of the rest of the group. The continuity of her daytime nap was limited by the rest of the group waking up to the snack served at 2 p.m. For Leena, an appropriate sleep-wake schedule would have meant either a schedule with two naps or at least one continuous nap, longer than that for the rest of the group. For a one-year-old child, the duration of the active waking state is, on an average, 3.5 - 4 hours at a time (Weissbluth, 1987). With Leena waking up in the morning some time between 6:00 and 6:50 and her taking her midday nap around 11:30 -11:40, the duration of her waking state in the morning was 4.5–5.5 hours. Furthermore, Leena’s day in daycare was quite long, usually over 9 hours. For professional reasons, her parents did a lot of traveling, and even during the weekends, Leena was cared for by her relatives. For Leena, this meant an overload of changes in human relations. She had a variety of overstimulating factors in her life. The team members had talks regarding Leena’s disturbed naps and prolonged times for falling asleep, her increased propensity to cry, and her irritability. These symptoms, however, they ascribed solely to the parents’ professional trips. They did not pose the question of whether the daytime naps were long enough, or whether the day-care center could balance the unevenness of the home situation, in some way or another. It could be that the caregivers could not pick out the significance of an inappropriate sleeping schedule from a number of factors. Perhaps, in this connection, they could not see any significant differences in the needs for sleep of 1-year-old Leena and of the 2–3 year-olds, respectively. In this case, we might be dealing with a matter of convenience for adults. Staggering Leena’s daytime nap schedule earlier than that of the rest of the group

462

H.Siren-Tiusanen, H. Robinson / Early Childhood Research Quarterly 16 (2001) 453– 474

would have required a reorganization of the adult work processes, especially in the use of the nap room. 3.2. The infant-toddler group Peipot: the many changes in the composition of the group and the simultaneous nap schedule 3.2.1. Child group, staff and sleep environment Of the twelve children in the Peipot group, nine were infants or 1–2 year-olds. Thus, the most basic care for them, including diaper-changes, involved a lot of work. There was a continuous influx of new children during the whole year, and a corresponding number of children leaving. During the observation period, the youngest children were 10 months, an age at which most infants still take two daily naps (de Roquefeuil et al., 1993; Weissbluth, 1987, 1995). The oldest child in the group was 3 years 4 months old. Absences were frequent among the youngest children because they were often sick. The parents also brought their convalescent children in, since many employers viewed parents’ absence from work unfavorably even though the parents were legally entitled to miss work when a child was ill. The recuperating children were tired and in poor condition, needing more adult care than usual. In the beginning of the day-care year, the composition of the Peipot team was still quite new, the staff being acquainted with none of the children or their families. Milla, an early childhood teacher, had just graduated from her three-year-long teacher training at the university and had come to the Tenhola day-care center on a one-year contract to replace a staff member on maternity leave. Anna was a caregiver with five years’ experience of infant-toddler groups in another day-care center. Siiri had been working for over 30 years in the infant-toddler groups of the Tenhola day-care center and had been professionally accredited after a short period of study. Ritva, a long-term assistant with thirty years of practical experience, was permanently in the middle shift, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. During the year, a lack of cooperation among the adults in Peipot prevented the development of sound teamwork with common practices and uniform aims. In their interviews, the staff told Helena that there had been a lot of crying in the group during the autumn. The caregivers still had feelings of distress as a result. In March, all the staff were ill, one after the other. The spring was also interrupted by annual vacation days taken by the staff. At times, the establishment was understaffed, and at times there was temporary staff at work, faces strange to the children. Some of the children would not allow the grown-ups that they didn’t know to help them. Other challenges were created by the cramped and impractical surroundings of the Peipot group. After their meal, the children had to pass through the nap room again in order to use the restroom and the washroom. This caused a large amount of through traffic while the first shift of children were trying to catch their afternoon naps. The nap room had fold-up beds which the staff had to open up every day before the children’s naps, and which they had to fold up again after the children awakened. The beds were situated in pairs, one on top of the other, and were situated closely together on two facing walls. Each child did have his/her own bed though in crowded conditions. In addition, the group had a covered outside terrace, where babies could be put to sleep in their carriages.

H.Siren-Tiusanen, H. Robinson / Early Childhood Research Quarterly 16 (2001) 453– 474

463

3.2.2. Nap schedule The children were put to sleep between 11 a.m. and 11:45 a.m., with somebody from the afternoon shift supervising the nap. Kaisla (10 months) was a newcomer in the group in the spring with her brother. In the initial discussion with Helena and the early childhood teacher Milla, parents told about Kaisla’s sleep rhythm and about the total amount of her diurnal sleep. The parents shared that before her day care experiences, Kaisla and her brother had regularly awakened spontaneously around 6:30 –7:00 a.m. Kaisla had a sleep rhythm of two daily naps. She slept outside in her buggy for about two hours in the morning, starting at 9 a.m. Between 1 and 2 p.m., she took an afternoon nap. In the event of the morning nap being temporarily postponed to 10 a.m., she often connected the two naps by extending the one nap to 2 p.m. When starting her day care experience, Kaisla had to wake up earlier in the morning. Her day care lasted from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. plus the time taken by the trip to and from day care. Her mother was hoping that Kaisla could continue her routine of two naps in the day care until summer vacation, when her mother could oversee the transition herself. In the initial interview, Milla thought that taking two naps would work well for Kaisla. After Kaisla had been in day care for a week, Milla described a change in this pattern. Not only did Kaisla have to immediately adjust to just one nap time with the whole group, but the start of her nap was also prolonged. On one particular day, her nap was delayed so much that it was not until 11:45 that Siiri and Ritva prepared her, the last of this group of children, for her nap. Kaisla’s periods of waking stretched beyond all limits, up to 6 hours, and caused overarousal and overstimulation in her behavior. Kaisla’s mother discovered that she had been awakened from her naps, a condition the mother did not like. I don’t like this business of waking her up. She doesn’t get enough sleep because she wakes up between 5 and 6 and falls asleep at 11:30 a.m. and then gets awakened at 2 p.m. here at the day care center. Siiri woke her up yesterday. When I picked Kaisla up at 4 p.m. she was sleeping outside and didn’t wake up in the city traffic or anything, and I woke her up to eat at 6 p.m.

Siiri, who woke Kaisla up, was not aware of her morning wake-up time. Two weeks after joining the day care group, Kaisla became ill for the first time. At home, her night sleep was fragmentary. In the interview, the mother told Helena about her difficulties in communicating with the staff. In the mornings, Kaisla’s father often brings her in. The staff does not necessarily remember to talk to him about Kaisla’s night sleep. Furthermore, the day care staff changes for the afternoon shift.

The staff was not able to organize a nap that would start early enough or that would be long enough for Kaisla’s needs. They claimed that the problem was that lunch was not yet prepared in the kitchen. In the interview, the mother told Helena about the consequences of insufficient sleep. I think her fatigue is over by the time she has just been sitting and waiting for an hour. If lunch were to be served at 10:30 before the arrival of the big crowd, Kaisla could have her meal and fall asleep without having to be awakened. When I take her home, she is extremely

464

H.Siren-Tiusanen, H. Robinson / Early Childhood Research Quarterly 16 (2001) 453– 474

tired, and she sleeps right through the city traffic. When we get to the weekend, she is so exhausted that when I want to be with the kids, Kaisla just sleeps.

The transition to the day care routine meant a decrease in Kaisla’s daily amount of sleep, a fragmentation of her sleep rhythms, and an encounter with sleep deprivation. The staff in the Peipot day-care group operated under a variety of limitations and pressures, its resources being taxed by the day-to-day running of the center. The home-daycare communication was random in nature and the team members had contradictory goals. The two adults with the least training believed that the whole multiage group should comply to a rigid schedule of daily naps at the same time of day. At the same time the trained staff members tried to be flexible, in accordance with the children’s natural biological rhythms and the wishes of their families. 3.3. The infant-toddler group Tervapa¨ a¨ skyt: a shift to a staggered schedule 3.3.1. Child group, staff and sleep environment The age span for the children in the Tervapa¨ a¨ skyt group was from 1 year 2 months to 3 years 1 month. Three of the children were 1–2 years old, the others being 2–3 years of age. Nine of the 12 children in the group were from the original Peipot group. Ulriika, an early childhood teacher, had 15 years’ experience in day care centers and in other types of child-related work. She was now in her third year in the infant-toddler group. She had had many discussions about working with infant-toddlers with Tellervo, the key informant in this study. Anna, the caregiver, and Siiri were from the previous spring’s Peipot team. Their long-term temporary assistant was student teaching before getting her teacher certification. When the fall activities started, Ulriika did not know the children in the group, nor did she know the other adults on the team. In her informal discussions with Tellervo, she complained that it would take the worker team the whole fall to settle into a state of cooperation and to clear up the duties and responsibilities involved. In her opinion, working in a team already familiar to everybody would make it easier to do high-quality work. One of her goals was to ease the constant state of haste; another was to improve opportunities to get to know the children as individuals. In this group, as with the Peipot group, the children had to pass through the nap room on their way to the toilets and washrooms after their meal. As also was the case with the Peipot group, the nap room had collapsible beds folding up into the walls, this being a further source of daily routine work. The beds had two tiers and were situated close next to each other along two facing walls. One bed was set aside aside for each child. The Tervapa¨ a¨ skyt team staggered the mornings quite consistently, so that three 1–2 year-olds were the first to come in from outside, before anyone else, thus also being the first to get to start their naps. When the older children came in from playing outside in the morning, they sang or played in the nap room, under the guidance of one adult, usually Ulriika. 3.3.2. Nap schedule Because it was fall, and the activities of the center had just begun again after the summer, two of the staff generally remained in the nap room until the majority of the children had calmed down and a number of them had fallen asleep. No bedside stories were read, but

H.Siren-Tiusanen, H. Robinson / Early Childhood Research Quarterly 16 (2001) 453– 474

465

sometimes Siiri sang the children a lullaby. Ulriika and Anna calmed the children down to sleep by stroking them or by employing massage therapy. In the discussions, Ulriika reported that the daily nap situation was among the best opportunities of the day to get personal close contact with each child. It was her habit to see each child during his/her nap. At the outset of the autumn, both Hanna (1 year 2 months) and Kaisla (1 year 4 months) from the original Peipot group were soothed into their daytime naps in the arms of an adult. In August and September, the children got in their beds between 11:20 and 11:30. In the beginning of October, Ulriika and Anna told Helena of their intention to put forward the times of the children’s daily naps. Very often, Hanna did quite a lot of crying, and consequently wanted to be held in someone’s arms. She suffered from chronic ear infections, and discussions between the parents and day care staff, as well as the sleep journals, revealed that at home her night sleep was fragmentary and discontinuous. Some mornings she fell asleep in the arms of an adult. In October, the time she took to fall asleep began to grow longer, so that some days she had to be put to sleep in the dark, in the arms of an adult, and apart from the rest of the group. At first the adults did not know whether she was overstimulated or whether she had just awakened later than usual in the morning. Finally, they interpreted Hanna’s situation as hyperstimulation, because of the way she suddenly dropped everything just to fall asleep. In August and September, Kaisla would fall asleep quickly; in October falling asleep became more difficult for her. The team could not come up with a reason for this, not knowing whether there might have been something out of the ordinary happening in Kaisla’s family at the time. Later the mother revealed that Kaisla still kept waking up at six in the mornings just as she had done in the spring. During morning outdoor times, she started to become tired, started to cry and have temper tantrums around 10 a.m., after which time she could no longer be cajoled into any form of activity. One rainy day inside, she fell asleep in Siiri’s arms at 10 a.m. Ulriika had noted that one had to be particularly punctual in the timing of Kaisla’s naps: she would not tolerate deviations greater than fifteen minutes. Ulriika found herself wondering whether, during the previous spring, Kaisla had had to adjust too early to a nap schedule with only one daily nap. The greatest cause for concern for Ulriika was the scheduling of the smallest children in the group, the 1–2 year-olds. She believed an earlier nap schedule was a good solution for the staff, thus dispensing with the need for cajoling and consoling weepy, tired children. According to Ulriika and Anna, the dinner cart arrived from the kitchen by 10.30 a.m. The shift in the schedule for the nap presupposed that someone had the time to open up the beds at the same time that the children were getting their outside clothes off after coming in. Someone from the Tervapa¨ a¨ skyt staff had to assist the Punatulkut group in undressing the children at times when no assisting staff was available. After the reorganization, the team put forward the nap schedule to have the 1–2 year-olds in bed by 11–11:10. This move made it easier for Kaisla and Hanna to fall asleep. The median time for this process in the autumn was 10 minutes. In addition, the adults decided that the three-year-old and older children would not come into the nap room until 11.50, to avoid their having to wait too long in their beds. Of the older children, Santtu (2 years 10 months) and Olavi (2 years 2 months) took longer than the others to fall asleep— half an hour, on average. This phenomenon was possibly

466

H.Siren-Tiusanen, H. Robinson / Early Childhood Research Quarterly 16 (2001) 453– 474

connected with the scheduling of the naps to meet the requirements for the 1–2 year-olds. It did, however, seem to have had some connections with the children’s home routines. In their interview, Santtu’s parents had said that the boy had fought against falling asleep right from the time that he was an infant. Furthermore, he wanted to stay up until his father came home from the afternoon shift at work. In December, Anna was asked by Santtu’s mother how long he slept at the day care center during the day. She said that he hadn’t been having any daytime naps at all at home during the weekends, falling asleep at 9 p.m., whereas during the week the bedtime stretched to as late as 10 p.m. Even so, the naps were still continued until the end of the year, when Santtu changed day care centers to one closer to his home. Olavi’s circadian sleep rhythm was out of step with his sleep schedules at home and in the day care center. In the mornings, Olavi’s parents had to wake him up to take him to day care. Not only did it take a long time to get him to sleep at the day-care center, but the staff (especially Siiri) often woke Olavi up, because otherwise he would have missed his snack at 2 p.m. In October, Olavi’s mother told Ulriika about her difficulties in getting him to sleep in the evening, wondering whether Olavi was getting too much sleep in day care. In their informal discussions, the staff put the family’s home routine down as the reason for the delayed bedtimes. The family lived in a one room flat where the parents typically watched television in the evenings and did not settle down early for the night themselves. The team for the Tervapa¨ a¨ skyt group, in particular, Ulriika and Anna, consciously reflected upon the group schedule and the timing of the naps. In time, Ulriika and Anna cooperated to achieve joint aims. They noted that the daily nap timetable was not suited to the 1–2 year olds, in particular, and consequently moved the daily nap schedule forward to accommodate the whole group. In addition, the nap schedule for the two oldest children was put back to a time later than that of the others. Such changes required a reorganization of the work processes involved. Some of the children had bedtime difficulties at home, problems which the parents thought were caused by the naps taken at the day care center. These examples indicate the need to resolve contradictions between the day care center and the home. As they reflected on the problematic situations the children face, the staff of the Tervapa¨ a¨ skyt became aware that staff needed to get better acquainted with the children’s homes. 3.4. The infant-toddler group Punatulkut: age-staggered nap schedule and the protection of the physiological efficiency of sleep 3.4.1. Child group, staff, and sleep environment The age range in the Punatulkut group at the time of data gathering was from 11 months to 2 years 11 months. At the beginning of the autumn, the children in the group were all new, half of them being either infants or under the age of 1.5. The make-up of the Punatulkut team was almost entirely new. Armi, the early childhood teacher, had worked for 10 years in the 3– 6 year-old groups in the Tenhola day care center. Now she was in the infant-toddler group for the first time and was not aware of what use her teacher training could be there. Ritva, without any formal training of her own, transferred from the Peipot group to the Punatulkut group to work as a long-term assistant. The second person without formal training in the team was Hillevi, who had been working for 20 years

H.Siren-Tiusanen, H. Robinson / Early Childhood Research Quarterly 16 (2001) 453– 474

467

in the Tenhola day-care center. She, too, had had no earlier experience with infant-toddler groups, but she was sensitive to the emotional states and the sleep needs of small children. She consequently became a good team-mate for Tellervo. Tellervo, a key informant for this study, was a caregiver, having received her training some twenty years earlier. When she joined the staff, she was satisfied especially with the variety of practical training she had been given, as well as with the manner in which the training of the time integrated theory and practical work. In her younger days, Tellervo had worked in two homes for children taken into custody, one of which included many babies, and in psychiatric nursing. Her style of working differed from that of the others, resulting in certain pressures. She did, however, have the support of the director. At the outset of the study, Tellervo had been working in the Tenhola center for a period of eight years. All of that time she had been participating in part-time study to supplement her training and skills. In the interview Tellervo said that, in her work, it was important for her to believe that something good would result from the practices selected. She experienced much satisfaction from direct contacts with the children and from the support she could give young parents. In interviews and informal discussions, Tellervo regarded the most difficult challenge in working with the infant-toddler groups as the arrival of new children. She had constructed a model whereby the staff consciously facilitated the adjustment of the new children during the first few days and weeks. Indeed, in the Punatulkut group, the children adjusted quite easily. The Punatulkut team operated in the same physical environment as the Peipot team, and under almost equivalent circumstances in other respects. The team helped the children to get adjusted to their new bed sites by rocking the children to sleep in their laps if they deemed it necessary. It was Tellervo’s wish that the children not develop any negative emotional attitudes toward their daily nap. 3.4.2. Nap schedule Tellervo interviewed all the parents, asking about the children’s previous experiences of going to sleep at home. Initially she thought that they would all have slept along the same lines: that they would have awakened about the same time in the morning after a night’s sleep of approximately 11 hours. In the busiest period, August-September, the children had not been put down for naps until around 11:30 –12:00. With Tellervo’s influence, however, the sleep timetable was put forward to have the smallest children in bed by about 11 a.m., and the older children by 11:30. The smallest children in the group, aged 11 months to 1 year 6 months, were systematically the first to be brought in from outside to be undressed around 10:15, and they were the first to start their meal. After the meal, the adults would individually take the children who were the first to be tired to get undressed, to go to the washroom and toilet and then to sleep. All adults except for Ritva were involved in this process. The whole chain of events was monitored by the same adult. She did not do this in a mere routine fashion, stopping, instead, to meet with each child, to provide closeness and a sense of individuality. The median time for falling asleep in the case of the 1–2 year-olds was 5 minutes. Tellervo and Hillevi noted that particular precision was required in the case of Juho, 12 months. On a few occasions, when the adults had been busy, he had managed to run around

468

H.Siren-Tiusanen, H. Robinson / Early Childhood Research Quarterly 16 (2001) 453– 474

the room a few times and it was particularly difficult for him to fall asleep. It took half an hour for him to do so, and his nap was cut short. Ilona (1 year 4 months) was often put to sleep outside the nap room, not being carried to her bed until she was asleep, because the sounds she made disturbed the other children. She was also very curious by nature, no event around her escaping her attention, so everything had to be completely calm for her to fall asleep. Tellervo asked her colleagues to ensure that the children aged older than one and a half years would come into the nap room in groups, not individually, in order to avoid all superfluous through traffic. In discussions, Tellervo and Hillevi reported that it was also important for no noises from the dining room to be heard in the nap room during the time that the smaller children were falling asleep. Once all the children were in bed, there were two adults on duty, and one remained when the children had all fallen asleep. At this juncture, the rest of the staff went to have their own lunch. Tellervo and Hillevi had, however, noticed that at about 1 p.m. the children were in some sort of lighter phase of their sleep, resulting in the younger children especially starting to make all sorts of sounds, which, in turn, woke the others up. The team attempted to have two adults present at this time, to see to it that the children’s sleep was uninterrupted. The Punatulkut team, especially Tellervo and Hillevi, went to a great deal of trouble to maintain a balance in Ilona’s (1 year 4 months) need for naps. The whole family lacked regular diurnal rhythm and routine. Informal discussions had revealed that, from the time that Ilona was a baby, the parents had had difficulties with her sleep-wake rhythms and schedules. During the weekends and during vacations Ilona often had daily naps lasting a mere 10 minutes in the car, or naps of varying length in the evening. The parents had a lot of evening activities, where they also took Ilona. The nightly bedtimes varied, very often being quite late, from 10 p.m. to midnight. The waking periods in the afternoon and in the evening grew overly long. Often, in the mornings, Ilona would be awakened to arrive at the center shortly after 8 a.m. The parents told Tellervo that Ilona would have been ready to go to bed as early as 7 p.m., but that the parents were afraid to put her to bed as early as that for fear of her waking up as early as 5 a.m. The mother’s thinking regarding Ilona’s naps was somewhat confused. Initially, she wanted the child to sleep a few hours in day care, so that Ilona would manage the evenings at home. Then again, on other occasions, Ilona’s mother thought that it was sufficient for Ilona to sleep a 10 minute nap in the weekends, for the mother to manage the evening. The naps in day care were initially interrupted and short. Gradually, however, they grew in length to 1.5 - 2 hours. In an interview Tellervo shared that there had been positive changes in Ilona’s situation in the day care center. In day care Ilona has learned that her own bed is a nice place to go to. She has been conditioned to accept the fact that the meal is followed directly by sleep. At first she was a very tense bundle, but now she is capable of relaxing and falling asleep, even though she might still be tense and bad-tempered. With everything going smoothly, with no holidays or vacations, with day care days of the same length, her sleep habits and ability to relax are terrific (they were much worse to start with). But then a day off from day care will upset this situation. She is bad-tempered, until she has got enough sleep again. She is apathetic, doesn’t say anything, laugh, or move as much, a situation completely out of character for her. Even though completely tired, she resists falling asleep to the last. The first sleep might be quite restless, she might sit up and call out, and sometimes make quite angry comments. It takes

H.Siren-Tiusanen, H. Robinson / Early Childhood Research Quarterly 16 (2001) 453– 474

469

a matter of three days for the situation to calm down. She had just spent a week’s holiday with her father, and now she just sleeps for half an hour, very restlessly, twisting and turning, crying out full of anguish; in other words she is completely worn out. At her best, Ilona is very lively, moves a lot, speaks a lot, sings and laughs a lot.

The Punatulkut group had a consistently staggered nap schedule. Among the staff, Tellervo and Hillevi especially strove to protect the children’s sleep rhythms and the physiological efficiency of their sleep, by caring for the sleep environment and by removing any possible sources of disturbance. Tellervo’s vision and experience had a crucial impact on the reorganization in the team of many traditionally rigid sleep practices. The Punatulkut team, Tellervo, in particular, had close confidential relationships with the parents, and could consequently balance out any shortcomings in the amount of sleep at home.

4. Discussion A comparison of the four infant-toddler groups’ practices reveals three significant factors in relation to the quality of children’s sleep and its physiological effectiveness. These factors are shown in Table 2. The factors can be seen as a continuum: at one end we have practices that protect sleep rhythms and improve the physiological effectiveness of sleep, and at the other end of the continuum, we find elements that disrupt them. This continuum expresses well for both the writers of this article, as well as for Wien (1996), the multidimensional, contradictory, and tension-building part of everyday life in day care centers. Nap scheduling is the first important factor in question. Napping times fluctuated from a simultaneous and rigid schedule in the Peipot group and to a large extent also in Vuoksela to age-staggering in Tervapa¨ a¨ skyt and to a consistently age-staggered napping schedule and consistently chosen individualization in the timing of napping in the Punatulkut group. The fairly rigid, simultaneous napping schedule led to a routinized fragmentation of children’s circadian and ultradian sleep rhythms. Starting napping times simultaneously and waking the children up at 2 p.m. for a snack meant cutting some children off from their natural fatigue rhythm and forced the children to adjust to the schedule and routines of the day care and needs of the adults. Such a practice limits the length of the nap, hinders children from sleeping long enough to complete each ultradian sleep cycle, and results in a loss of benefits Table 2 Protecting and disrupting practices in the physiology of sleep in infant-toddler groups Protecting practices

Disrupting practices

1. Staggered napping schedule tailored to children’s ages and individual rhythms

1. Rigid, simultaneous napping schedule for the whole multiage group, determined by the clock. Children’s care in large groups 2. Distant relationship between parents and caregivers 3. Indifference in relation to sleep environment

2. Consistent and close dialogue with parents 3. Awareness of importance of sleep environment. Physiologically appropriate sleep environment

470

H.Siren-Tiusanen, H. Robinson / Early Childhood Research Quarterly 16 (2001) 453– 474

of all the restorative functions of sleep (Daws, 1993). It causes prolonged fatigue, especially for infants and children in the 1–2 year-old group, as Kaisla’s and Leena’s examples show. At the same time the period of wakefulness in the morning becomes overextended and overstimulating. Many children’s behaviors, for example in the cases of Leena, Kaisla and Ilona, illustrate how deficits of sleep and overstimulation are manifest during waking hours as perpetual irritation, lack of attention, lack of energy, and diminishing emotional adaptability (Daws, 1993; Weissbluth, 1987,Weissbluth, 1989). Typical signs of overstimulation in the infant-toddler group are a prolonged time to fall asleep and bedtime difficulties, which have been the focus of Weissbluth’s studies (Weissbluth, 1987, Weissbluth, 1989). In this study, children in different groups exhibited this behavior, namely Leena, Kaisla, Hanna, Juho and Ilona. In another context a prolonged time for falling asleep could indicate that napping time has been scheduled too early, or that time in bed surpasses an individual child’s need for sleep. We still lack specific information about how fragmentation of sleep combined with the overstimulation children experience is related to increased levels of illnesses seen in infanttoddler groups (Po¨ nka¨ , & Salminen, 1990). Because children have multiple stresses and strains in their lives besides the loss of sleep, such as long hours in day care as well as overstimulation from constant changes (Elkind, 1988), we are discussing a multifaceted and difficult, multi-disciplinary research field. In the teaching team of the Tervapa¨ a¨ skyt group, Ulriika and Anna reflected on the nap schedule after realizing Kaisla and Hanna were showing signs of overstimulation in the form of difficulty falling asleep and constant irritation. Based on this reflection, the team changed to a staggered napping schedule that allowed the three-year-olds to start their napping later than the other children. Helena’s researcher presence in the Tenhola day care center might have influenced the staff’s reflections on group schedules and nap times. In the Punatulkut group, napping times became consistently staggered by age, although naptimes typically began later rather than earlier during the first month of trying out new scheduling. The team had dismantled their rigid system in which the adult scheduled tasks related to their work shifts. The children were cared for in small groups rather than large groups, so that their ages and fatigue rhythms were used as criteria in organizing activities. This practice was largely influenced by Tellervo’s vision, practical knowledge, and organizational skills. Because little research has been conducted on infant-toddler routines, care and nap times, awareness of the importance of these aspects of early childhood education is inadequate. This lack of understanding reinforces habitual practices. Most educators in the teams seemed to lack theoretical knowledge concerning the rapid changes in infants’ sleep needs and the basic functions of sleep rhythms during the first years of life (Anders & Taylor, 1994; de Roquefeuil et al., 1993; Ferber & Kryger, 1995; Weissbluth, 1995). Thus, the teams did not seem to respect age or individual differences in children’s sleep needs. Underestimating the value of sleep routines could also indicate a lack of respect for physical care as opposed to emphasizing the pedagogical aspects of child care in the culture of teachers (Smith, 1996). (Weissbluth, 1987) connects underestimating the value of sleep to an even larger context, to the societal thrust for efficiency. Valuing efficiency may make napping times seem to be time wasted and thrown away. Cooperation between the day care personnel and parents is the second key factor in

H.Siren-Tiusanen, H. Robinson / Early Childhood Research Quarterly 16 (2001) 453– 474

471

supporting the quality and physiological efficiency of sleep and preventing overstimulation in infant-toddlers. Naps in the day care center are an integral part of the children’s total sleep schedule and total sleep duration. Sleep deprivation stemming from day care experiences had consequences in the children’s behavior in their home environments, as the case of Kaisla shows. Incidents with Ilona show that sleep deprivation at home translates into difficulties in the day care setting as well. In all four day care groups, results of earlier studies (Anders & Taylor, 1994; Ferber & Kryger, 1995; Weissbluth, 1987) were confirmed: some of the parents appeared to have little respect for their children’s sleep and thus caused stress and tension in the teams. In many cases the parents did not know how children’s sleep differs from adult sleep. The parents either suggested waking their child up in the middle of their napping or eliminating naps altogether. According to Ferber, the elimination of naps too early even in the home setting may leave the child overtired and physically stressed (Ferber & Kryger, 1995). Despite the variety of these situations, it seemed that with the exception of Tellervo, teachers and caregivers were hesitant and unsure in facing the tensions and conflicts raised by nap times. Tellervo did not automatically carry through the parents’ wishes that she wake their child up without first talking with the parents and trying to resolve differences in opinion. She let the parents know what consequences would likely result from eliminating naps too early or interrupting children’s sleep. She also told the parents about the fast learning and smooth care of a child who is well rested. In the Punatulkut group, none of the children had to be awakened systematically from their naps. A third factor in improving the quality of sleep is the extent to which educators are aware of the importance of the day care environment and focus on modifying sleep environments which may be less than optimal from an adaptive physiological perspective. The Punatulkut team, especially Tellervo and Hillevi, were very aware of the extent to which environmental factors within and outside the sleeping room kept children from falling asleep and from continuing sleep. They consciously took steps to eliminate these disturbances. Based on their accumulated knowledge and experience, they understood the cyclical nature of sleep. This understanding was concretely expressed in the arrangements to have two adults in the napping room until one o’clock. Which factors determine the practices related to sleep in infant-toddler groups? One of the central factors is the teams⬘ ability to organize their work processes and to prioritize their goals in the care and education of children. The Peipot team seemed to be working both mechanically (in their rigid scheduling of nap times) and chaotically (in their response to multiple stresses and limited resources). The Punatulkut team, on the other hand, functioned in the same environment and almost under identical circumstances and still was able to overcome the problems created by the environment and by the large number of younger children. The crucial difference was that the Peipot team did not have a caregiver like Tellervo who had a vision as well as practical knowledge (Wien, 1996) about how to organize group napping schedules to best suit the children’s needs. Within the teams, early childhood teachers and caregivers were able to create developmentally appropriate practices that other members of the day care community gradually started embracing. These dynamic interactions represent and exemplify dialogical empowerment, which invigorates professional growth and creates collegial rapport and “possibility

472

H.Siren-Tiusanen, H. Robinson / Early Childhood Research Quarterly 16 (2001) 453– 474

thinking” (Robinson, 1994; Siitonen & Robinson, 1998). Tellervo’s practical knowledge was based on long-term reflection on her experiences, the training she had received, continuing professional development, and above all, her motivation to work with children and their families. An important part of her practical knowledge was her approach to teaming. She worked in the team in a democratic manner, applauded team members for their input, encouraged her colleagues, and gave them space. This support given by Tellervo influenced Hillevi, who did not have formal training, to develop increased self-reliance. Tellervo discussed infant-toddler work with her colleagues. Wien (1996), among others, sees this kind of dialogue and conscious reflection as an important ingredient in renewing practices to meet children’s developmental needs. The example of Tellervo and the Punatulkut team shows how routines and nap schedules revolve around the question of how power is being used in interactions within the teams (Leavitt, 1994).

5. Implications It is a complex challenge to organize and renew the child care environment in a way that staggers infant-toddler groups’ daily rhythms and sleep-wake rhythms according to the age-and individually- appropriate physiological needs of children. Such an organization requires that the teams of caregivers and parents focus on the child’s needs. It is also important that physical sleep environments get attention from caregivers. Doing this is increasingly difficult in multiage groups and in day care settings which are environmentally not appropriate. This attention to sleep environments is also made difficult by the tendency of our societies to see the parents’ work schedules as the dominating factor in creating life rhythms for families. The training of early childhood educators and caregivers should guide educators to consciously prioritize their practices. Respecting the value of sleep and its restorative function along with a theoretical understanding of sleep-wake rhythms is fundamental in creating visions for decision-making in early childhood education. Early childhood educators working with infant-toddlers should become aware of the relationship between efficiency of waking hours and quality of sleep. Only alert children are able to concentrate on learning and to benefit from stimulating activities. Quality physical care is a prerequisite for quality pedagogy. Future early childhood teachers should be trained to see the accumulating effects and factors that create overstimulation. Some of these factors are day care days that are too long and overextended periods of wakefulness. Preparation for teamwork is an important part of preparing professionals for infant-toddler groups. Teams need to be able to share a vision of what goals are important for children in their care. We need to shift from large group instruction and care to smaller interactive groups, as suggested by the National Association for the Education of Young Children guidelines (Bredekamp & Copple, 1997) and by others. This reorientation necessitates moving from task-related work to organizing the care and education of children in new ways. If each individual team member feels that she/he is simultaneously in charge of a dozen children, early childhood educators and others perceive caring for children as conveyor belt

H.Siren-Tiusanen, H. Robinson / Early Childhood Research Quarterly 16 (2001) 453– 474

473

work where people arrive to do the tasks required of their specific work shift. Working with groups is seen differently when educators perceive the children and cooperation with their parents to be the main focus of their work. The results of this study have implications for caregivers, parents, administrators, and early childhood educators. Practices that are developmentally and physiologically appropriate require the additional support of relevant administrators so that decisions regarding spaces and day care sleep environments are functional. We need more research on why some parents appear to give little value to their children’s sleep. It is important to work toward dispelling the myths parents have about nap times and providing them with current information. Part of the answer might be in encouraging parents and teams of caregivers to observe children’s sleep-wake rhythms and log them in sleep journals, particularly when problems arise.

Acknowledgments This study was financially supported by LIKES-Foundation and the Ministry of Education, Finland. We are grateful to the three anonymous reviewers for helpful suggestions.

References Anders, T.F., & Taylor, T.R. (1994). Babies and their sleep environment. Children’s Environments 11, 123–134. Anders, T.F., Sadeh, A., & Appareddy, V. (1995). Normal sleep in neonates and children. In R. Ferber & M. Kryger (Eds.), Principles and practice of sleep medicine in the child (pp. 7–18). Philadelphia: W.B. Saunders Company. Bredekamp, S. (1987). Developmentally appropriate practice in early childhood programs serving children from birth through age 8. Washington, DC: NAEYC. Bredekamp, S., & Copple, C. (1997). Developmentally appropriate practice in early childhood programs (Rev.Ed.). Washington, DC: NAEYC. Cochran, M. (Ed.). (1993). International handbook of child care policies and programs. Westport: Greenwood. Cofer, L.F., Grice, J.W., Sethre-Hofstad, L., Radi, C.J., Zimmermann, L.K., Palmer-Seal, D., & Santa-Maria, G. (1999). Developmental perspectives on morningness-eveningness and social interactions. Human Development, 42, 169 –198. Corsaro, W.A. (1985). Friendship and peer culture in the early years. Norwood, NJ: Ablex. Daws, D. (1993). Through the night: helping parents and sleepless infants. London: Free Association Books. de Roquefeuil, G., Djakovic, M., & Montagner, H. (1993). New data on the ontogeny of the child’s sleep-wake rhythm. Chronobiology International 10, 43–53. Elkind, D. (1988). The hurried child: growing up too fast too soon. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley. Ferber, R. & Kryger M. (1995). Principles and practice of sleep medicine in the child. Philadelphia: W.B. Saunders Company. Ferber, R. (1996). Childhood sleep disorders. Neurologic Clinics 14, 493–511. Field, T. (1994). Caregiving environments for infants. Children’s Environments, 11, 147–154. Field, T., Kilmer, T., Hernandez-Reif, M., & Burman, I. (1996). Preschool children’s sleep and wake behavior: Effects of massage therapy. Early Child Development and Care, 120, 39 – 44. Hujala-Huttunen, E. (1996). Day care in the USA, Russia and Finland: views from parents, teachers and directors. Early Childhood Education Research Journal, 4, 33– 47.

474

H.Siren-Tiusanen, H. Robinson / Early Childhood Research Quarterly 16 (2001) 453– 474

Kawasaki, C., Nugent, J.K., Miyashita, H., Miyahara, H., & Brazelton, J. (1994). The cultural organization of infant’s sleep. Children’s Environments, 11, 135–141. Koch, P., Soussignan, R., & Montagner, H. (1984). New data on the wake-sleep rhythm of children aged from 2.5 to 4.5 years. Acta Paeatrica Scandinavica, 73, 667– 673. Kontos, S., & Wilcox-Herzog, A. (1997). Teacher’s interactions with children: why are they so important? Young Children, 52, 4 –12. Leavitt, R.L. (1994). Power and emotion in infant-toddler day care. Albany: State University of New York Press. Montagner, H., Restoin, A., & Henry, J. (1982). Biological defense rhythms, stress, and communication in children. In W. Hartup (Ed.), Review of child development research (vol. 6) (pp. 291–319). Chicago: The University of Chicago Press. Montagner, H., de Roquefeuil, G., & Djakovic, M. (1992). Biological, behavioral and intellectual activity rhythms of the child during its development in different educational environments. In Y. Tuoitou & E. Haus (Eds.), Biologic rhythms in clinical and laboratory medicine (pp.214 –229). Berlin: Springer-Verlag. Ottaviano, S., Giannotti, F., Cortesi, F., Bruni, O., & Ottaviano, C. (1996). Sleep characteristics in healthy children from birth to 6 years of age in the urban area of Rome. Sleep, 19, 1–3. Po¨ nka¨ , A., & Salminen, E. (1990). Kunnallisessa pa¨ iva¨ hoidossa hoidettujen lasten sairastavuus Helsingissa¨ 1979 –1988. Illnesses in day care children in Helsinki, 1979 –1988. Suomen la¨ a¨ ka¨ rilehti (Finnish Medical Journal) 32, 2913–18. Robinson, H.A. (1994). The ethnography of empowerment: The transformative power of classroom interaction. London: Falmer Press. Siitonen, J. & Robinson, H. A. (1998). Empowerment: links to teachers’ professional growth. In R. Erkkila¨ , A. Willman, & L. Syrja¨ la¨ (Eds.), Promoting teachers’ personal and professional growth (pp. 165–191). Oulu: Department of Teacher Education. Acta Universitatis Ouluensis, E 32. Siren-Tiusanen, H. (1996). Saako lapsi nukkua, liikkua ja ela¨ a¨ omassa rytmissa¨ a¨ n. Na¨ ko¨ kulmia nuorimpien pa¨ iva¨ kotilasten kuormittuvuuteen (Can a child sleep, move, and live to his/her own rhythm. Perspectives on the overstimulation of day care children). Research Reports on Sport and Health 102, Jyva¨ skyla¨ . Smith, A. (1996). The early childhood curriculum from a sociocultural perspective. Early Child Development and Care, 115, 51– 64. Stores, G. (1996). Practitioner review: Assessment and treatment of sleep disorders in children and adolescents. The Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 17, 907–925. Weissbluth, M. (1987). Healthy sleep habits, happy child. New York: Fawcett Columbine. Weissbluth, M. (1989). Sleep-loss stress and temperamental difficultness: psychobiological processes and practical considerations. In G.A. Kohnstamm, J.E. Bates, & M.K. Rothbart (Eds.), Temperament in childhood (pp. 357–375). Chichester: John Wiley & Sons. Weissbluth, M. (1995). Naps in children: 6 months-7 years. Sleep, 18, 82– 87. Wien, C.A. (1996). Time, work, and developmentally appropriate practice. Early Childhood Research Quarterly 11, 377– 403.