Not wanting to interrupt their
children’s sleep, parents frequently do
not awaken their children (following
T & A) to administer post-operative
analgesia during the nighttime
(Wiggins & Foster, 2007). Helgadóttir
and Wilson (2004) noted only 34% of
the children (N = 68) immediately following
T & A were awakened to
receive pain medication during the
nighttime hours of sleep. Without
ATC analgesic dosing during postoperative
home care, children are vulnerable
to the experience of nighttime
and early morning awakenings
related to severe pain (Wiggins &
Foster, 2007). Sleep interruptions due
to waking with pain often extend the
experience of sleep loss to both the
child and family. This experience of
child and family sleep debt creates
difficulty with managing home and
work responsibilities, and delays the
child’s return to school (Wiggins,
2009).