A community-based study of sleep and behaviour problems in 12- to 36-month-old children W.A. Hall,* A. Scher,§ A. Zaidman-Zait,† H. Espezel‡ and F. Warnock* *School of Nursing, University of British Columbia †Human Early Learning Partnership, University of British Columbia ‡Quality, Patient Safety & Accreditation, BC Children’s Hospital Provincial Health Services Authority,Vancouver, BC, Canada, and §Faculty of Education, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel Accepted for publication 17 February 2011 Keywords behaviour, child care, child development, sleep Correspondence: Wendy A. Hall, RN, PhD, School of Nursing, University of British Columbia, T. 201 2211 Wesbrook Mall, Vancouver, BC, Canada V6T 2B5 E-mail: wendy.hall@nursing.ubc.ca Abstract Background While evidence suggests sleep problems are common in young children and linked to behavioural problems, studies of toddlers are rare. This community-based cross-sectional study examined associations between sleep problems and daytime behaviour among 58 children aged 1 to 3 years who attended daycare centres. Methods Mothers and daycare providers completed four and three questionnaires, respectively, about children’s sleep patterns and behaviour.Two hypotheses were tested: (1) children with higher sleep problem scores would have more behavioural problems by parental and daycare provider report; (2) problematic napping behaviours would be associated with night sleep problems. Results Mothers’ reports of sleep problems were positively associated with children’s behavioural problems at home and daycare providers’ reports of nap problems were positively correlated with children’s behavioural problems at daycare. Daycare providers’ reports of children’s behavioural problems at daycare were associated with maternal reports of behavioural problems. Older children in the sleep problem group had maternal reports of more behavioural problems. Daycare providers reported that children with sleep problems were less happy at daycare. Children who were happier following naps had less reported night settling difficulties. Children with difficulty settling for naps at daycare had maternal reports of more behavioural problems. Conclusions Napping in daycare settings is an important component of toddlers’ sleep. Crossover effects between children’s sleep and behaviour at daycare and home indicate similarities in mothers’ and daycare providers’ perceptions. Findings suggest parent and daycare provider interactions include discussions about sleep problems and settling at home and in daycares. Parents and daycare providers would benefit from education about relationships between sleep and behavioural problems. Introduction It is estimated 25% to 33% of children between the ages of 6 months and 5 years have difficulties falling asleep or sleeping through the night (Petit et al. 2007). In Canada, 40% of pre- schoolers received non-parental daytime care; of those, 58% received care in daycare centres or family child care facilities (Statistics Canada 2007). The province of British Columbia spends more than $300m on regulated child care spaces (Prov- ince of British Columbia 2009), with 4440 group child care spaces for children 3 years of age and under and 14 441 family child care spaces (Statistics Canada 2007). Child: care, health and development Original Article doi:10.1111/j.1365-2214.2011.01252.x © 2011 Blackwell Publishing Ltd 1