Researchers from the University of Washington studied methods of promoting sleep in children in 14 different cultures and found that the method affected the child’s character. The research was published in the journal Boundaries in Psychology.
An international research team asked 841 caregivers from 14 culturally diverse countries (Belgium, Brazil, Chile, China, Finland, Italy, Mexico, Netherlands, Romania, Russia, Spain, South Korea, Turkey and the United States) to complete questionnaires. about their children’s temperament (between 17 and 40 months) and their methods of appeasement.
They found that differences in sleep-promoting practices affected a child’s temperament. Moreover, the difference is even greater when different cultures are taken into account.
In general, children in countries that relied more on passive strategies (hugging, singing, and reading) had higher scores on sociability and self-control. Active methods of promoting sleep (walking and playing) were associated with children being more prone to negative emotions: fear, anger, sadness.
Passive methods were mostly used in the USA, Finland and the Netherlands, while active methods were used in Romania, Spain and Chile.