bGeorge J. Cohen, M.D., F.A.A.P./b, is attending pediatrician at Children's National Medical Center and a professor of pediatrics in Washington, D.C.brbrbThe American Academy of Pediatrics/bis an organization of more than 55,000 primary-care pediatricians, pediatric medical subspecialists, and pediatric surgical specialists dedicated to the health, safety, and well-being of infants, children, adolescents, and young adults. Previous AAP books include the Guide to Your Child's Nutrition and Guide to Your Child's Symptoms.Avoiding Bedtime Battles So the Whole Family Sleeps WellbrbrSooner or later, almost every parent must deal with a child's sleeptime problems. In early infancy, the first task is to help your baby learn to sleep longer at night and stay awake for increasingly longer periods during the daytime. A few months on, separation anxiety makes its first appearance. During this phase, which may come and go for at least a year and possibly much longer, parents have to persuade their child over and over again that they're around to protect him, that it's safe to go to sleep, that "Good night" doesn't mean "Good-bye forever!"brbrOther issues crop up throughout childhood. Each one is different, just as each child is unique. And yet the problems fall into predictable patterns, such as bedtime resistance, nighttime fears that keep a child sleepless, the midnight rambler who roams the house, the child who insists she can only sleep in her parents' bed. As each new problem arises, parents not only implore, "How can we get our child to sleep?" but also wonder, "When will we ever get a night's sleep?"brbrWhile sleep disturbances are common in childhood, they shouldn't be ignored. One study of 3-year-olds receiving treatment for sleep problems found that 84 percent of the children had had their problems since infancy. Another study showed that college students with sleep troubles had had familiar difficulties