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More than a thousand three-month-old British children were followed until they were three years old, with significant results.
Many parents give their babies solid food before the usual age recommended six months, hoping to make them sleep better. A large British study, published Monday, July 9 in the American journal JAMA Pediatrics (in English) confirms this practice, although it does not completely solve the problems of sleep. [19659003] The experiment was conducted on 1,303 three-month-olds in England and Wales, selected between 2009 and 2012 and followed up to their third birthday. Half of the parents were encouraged to give solid food, such as fish or wheat, before six months, while the other half of the children were to be badfed for up to six months. [19659003FewstudieshaveinvolvedsomanychildrenwithsucharigorousprotocolwithparticipantsrandomlybadignedtobothgroupsAsaresultchildrenwhostartedeatingsolidfoodinadvancesleptlongerandwokelessoftenatnight
The number of nocturnal awakenings is far from zero, but the difference between the two groups is considered significant, when looking at the median, going down from 2.01 awakenings per night to 1.74. This means that half of children eating solid foods woke up less than 1.74 times a night. There was also a notable difference in sleep duration, with a peak of more than 16 minutes at six months of age
Researchers acknowledge that it is possible that mothers participating in the study responded more positively to the questionnaires when they had to give solid foods, having anticipated a positive effect. But, according to them, it is unlikely that this bias lasted beyond six months.
In total, they conclude in their article, recent new guidelines recommending parents to expose their children earlier than previously to foods that can cause allergies, such as peanuts, could also provide a benefit in terms of sleep for both children and their parents.
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