CHILDREN FINDING IT HARDER TO SLEEP SINCE THE PANDEMIC, SAY PARENTS

Research from tonies® reveals pandemic’s impact on UK children’s sleep and biggest fears at bedtime, with monsters in the bedroom the most common theme of nightmares 

·        With 39% of UK children believing that there is a monster in their bedroom, tonies® has launched its ‘Only Monsters Can Hear This’ audio to help children shoo away naughty night time monsters

Children’s audio system tonies® has found that 39% of parents feel that their child is experiencing trouble sleeping as a result of the pandemic, with monsters the most common theme of nightmares. To help reassure children and encourage a good night’s sleep, tonies® is releasing ‘Only Monsters can Hear This’: a special downloadable audio which ‘shoos away’ mischievous bedtime beasts.

The research, which is being released ahead of World Sleep Day (18 March), also reveals the most common fears which stop little ones from sleeping, and the most recurring nightmares that children experience. This includes getting chased by a frightening person or animal (31%) and being lost or left behind in public (31%). Almost a third (31%) of children also said they are afraid of the dark, which prevents them from falling asleep.

The new ‘Only Monsters Can Hear This’ downloadable content has been created to support parents of children who are scared and might be finding it difficult to drift off.  Helping to show little ones that monsters are nothing to be afraid of, and to help rebuild confidence at bedtime, the audio consists of a soothing introduction to ease children into a sleepy state before playing a sound that ‘only monsters can hear’. The free content, which can be downloaded onto a Creative Tonie, aims to be part of a sleep routine which works for both child and parent.

tonies® research also showed the impact that the pandemic has had on children’s sleep, with over two fifths (42%) of parents saying that it has increased their child’s stress and anxiety. Almost a third (31%) reported an increase in, or worse, nightmares over the last two years and 38% of parents have said that their child struggles to go to sleep due to separation anxiety.

When asked what the key reasons that children were struggling to fall asleep, believing a monster or scary creature in their bedroom was the leading cause (39%), followed closely by fears of missing out (38%) and fears of having bad dreams when they sleep (33%).

Pinky Laing, Partnerships and PR Manager at tonies® UK and Ireland, comments: "Sleep is a key part of children’s mental and physical development. It’s important to adopt a positive attitude to sleep early on. The pandemic created fears that children did not have before, and as a result, parents are finding it more and more difficult to help their little ones drift off, and sleep peacefully until the morning. 

With children at the heart of everything we do, we wanted to come up with a solution that will help with this growing problem. We’re excited to launch the release of the ‘Only Monsters Can Hear This’ audio as a fun solution to help ‘ward off’ the monsters with a screen free device which helps children build confidence at night time and enjoy their bedtime routine.”

There are many ways in which tonies can help promote a good night's sleep. The Toniebox from tonies® is the perfect screen-free sleep aid, with no blue light emissions - often associated with sleep disturbance or circadian rhythm disruptions - thereby encouraging quality sleep. tonies® recently launched a range of sleep-inducing Nap Time Tonies: In the Night Garden Nature Sounds and White Noise, all helping children to drift off easily and enjoy a restful night’s sleep in a charming and gentle way. To find out more about the Toniebox, the clever speaker full of audio fun, and the Tonies, the audio character figurines, head to: https://tonies.com/en-gb/

Images by Yuganov Konstantin on Canva

Other Parenting Articles for you

One in five kids have trouble getting to sleep

Five top tips for designing a harmonious children’s room