Solve Your Child's Sleep Problems

by Richard Ferber

You should always avoid feeding your child when she is lying in her bed or crib, even if sleep disruptions aren’t a problem. Simply handing a bottle to a child lying supine is a way to cause ear and dental problems. Because the eustachian tube (a small passageway to the throat that vents or drains the middle-ear cavity) is short and horizontal in young children, liquid—and bacteria—can easily pass from the throat to the middle-ear space if a child sucks on a bottle while lying on her back. The result can be a middle-ear infection, otitis media. Also, once your child’s teeth erupt, she is at risk for tooth decay if she goes to sleep with milk or juice in her mouth, and this is just what happens when she falls asleep with a bottle in her mouth.