Dear Parents:
Welcome to the Children’s Best Bedroom Environment for Sleep (CBBES) manual. If you are
concerned about your child’s sleep- you are not alone. Every day we hear more and more
about how much sleep matters for children. But it can be quite a challenge to find out how
sleep works and what you can do to help your child get a quality sleep. That’s what the CBBES
manual is for- helping you understand sleep so you can make good decisions based on the best
research available.
The CBBES manual was developed by researchers in the Department of Occupational Therapy,
Faculty of Rehabilitation Medicine at the University of Alberta. We designed it for busy parents
like you, who are concerned about their child’s ability to get the best quality of sleep possible.
The amount of information available can be overwhelming, and it is difficult to know what is
reliable and based on facts, not fads. We understand that this makes it hard for you and other
parents to find information to guide you in making your decisions. Our role as researchers is to
make information, based on the best scientific evidence possible, available so you can make
informed choices about your child’s sleep.
This manual has two goals:
- To help you understand the science of children’s sleep, and
- To provide you with research-tested ways to change your child’s bedroom environment
so he or she gets the best sleep possible.
How to use the CBBES manual
It is best to start at the beginning and read through the whole CBBES manual. That way you will
understand the sleep science supporting the recommendations in this manual. Once you
understand the sleep science you will be able to select recommendations that best fit your child
and family. Not all of the recommendations will work for every child so don’t feel discouraged
if you need to be creative- after all, being creative is what parents do best!
This manual has used the best scientific evidence available regarding the sleep environment.
Key references are included on page 25.