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Uploaded: Monday, April 6, 2009, 11:12 AM
Sleep expert offers advice to Palo Alto parents
'Ask the sleep doctor' is topic of free public talk Tuesday
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"Ask the Sleep Doctor" is the title of a free talk Tuesday, April 7, by Stanford children's sleep expert Rafael Pelayo.
Pelayo, father of two and assistant professor at Stanford Medical School's Sleep Disorders Clinic, is an expert on children's sleep issues and their impact on the family.
The talk, open to the public, will be at 7:30 p.m. in the Cubberley Theater, 4000 Middlefield Road, Palo Alto. It is part of the "Parents Survive & Thrive" speaker series sponsored by Friends of PreSchool Family.
"At exasperated moments, most parents wish their children came with instruction manuals," said Sharon Keplinger, program coordinator for PreSchool Family Program. "These talks help parents write their own chapters and implement strategies on the critical issues of children's nutrition and sleep."
"Our 'Parents Survive & Thrive' speaker series is designed to educate and empower parents with the latest child-rearing knowledge and expertise," Jane Volpe, president of Friends of PreSchool Family, said.
For more than six decades, PreSchool Family has provided parenting-skills education and pre-school classroom experiences for children aged birth through five years. PreSchool Family is a program of the Adult School of the Palo Alto Unified School District, and is accredited by the State of California through the Department of Adult Education. Registration is held each April for semesters that begin each September and January.
PreSchool Family was founded in 1946 by Besse Bolton, who believed that hands-on parent education could help build strong, supportive families that in turn could help children become capable and happy. This philosophy has served approximately 15,000 children.
Parents and children come to school together, and parents take an active part in developing the playing and learning classroom experience. Parents also attend evening discussion classes on such topics as the developmental characteristics of a given age group, sleep issues, conflict resolution, setting limits, nutrition, play, routines for children, self-esteem, parenting styles and the needs of parents. PreSchool Family also serves as a valuable community resource center for childhood behavior and developmental issues.
For more information about the "Parents Survive & Thrive" series, PreSchool Family or Friends of PreSchool Family, contact Sharon Keplinger, PreSchool Family Program Coordinator, at 650-856-0833, skeplinger@pausd.org, or Jane Volpe, President of Friends of PreSchool Family, at 650-424-0416, jmail56@pacbell.net.— Palo Alto Online staff
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Posted by YSK, a resident of the Old Palo Alto neighborhood, on Apr 6, 2009 at 11:43 am Dr. Pelayo was my daughters doctor. He is very good, and was very helpful to us. Been around a long time, understands the pressures if the community and schools. If you can, you should really attend the talk!
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Posted by No More Snore, a resident of another community, on Apr 6, 2009 at 1:20 pm Parents, our 7 yr old daughter was close to a diagnosis of ADHD. Based on a report of her snoring (snoring in children isn't normal), and an at-home sleep study. Dr. Pelayo advised a tonsil-adnoidectomy. He told us hypersomnolence (extreme tiredness) presents as hyperactivity in children, and that studies show 20% of the diagnosed ADHD cases are actually cases of sleep disorder - in our case mild OSA and flow restricted airway. Our daughter is like a different person, after the surgery, and has a happier life, thanks to Dr. Pelayo.
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Posted by PSF Fan, a resident of the Duveneck/St. Francis neighborhood, on Apr 7, 2009 at 10:06 pm Just got back from this talk -- absolutely WONDERFUL. If all parents could attend a talk with Dr. Pelayo, there would be far less stressed out, sleepless parents. Think of bedtime not as a chore, but as a positive, loving, peaceful end of the day for parents and children alike. It should be a happy time. Realize that whether you choose to have your child sleep alone or bedshare with you, it is a cultural decision - as Dr. Pelayo said, we did not start out having our babies sleep in separate caves! As usual, PreSchool Family continues its stellar, unwavering committment to this community's parents and their children. We are all richer for having PreSchool Family in our community. Thank you for a great talk!
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Posted by Parent of teens, a member of the Palo Alto High School community, on Apr 8, 2009 at 9:00 am There seems to be a mentality among our teens (starting in middle school) that they "need" caffeine in the evenings to help them get their homework done. They are then so wound up that they can't get to sleep until after midnight and consequently don't get enough sleep. Even if they finish homework before 11.00 they are still wide awake enough that they can't fall asleep. This habit of caffeine in the evenings is proving to be very bad for our kids. I am not allowing caffeine drinks in our home, but still they get them.
Has anyone else dealt with this and with what success?
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