How common is the snoring in children?
It's a very common condition. From our studies in the US population and other populations around the world, habitual snoring affects about 11 percent to 12 percent of all children between the ages of 1 through 9. With habitual snoring, a child will have snoring, at least three to four times a week, that is loud enough that the parents will know about it.
Why should parents of children who are habitual snorers be concerned?
Parents should be aware of it because snoring can be associated with significant disruption of the quality of sleep and other underlying conditions that can affect the brain and the heart.
With habitual snoring, many parents will say, "Oh, I don't care too much," and I've had parents who actually were very proud of it, saying, "My child is a little adult because he snores as strong as his grandpa." Well, that's not a funny thing to me. That actually indicates that the child may be having significant problems, and that their snoring needs to be evaluated.
How is snoring different in children than in adults?
The principle is about the same. In other words, snoring is noisy breathing that results from the vibration of air going through the upper airway. So in itself, it's just a sound. But what it indicates is that there are increases in the upper airway resistance, meaning that the resistance to air passing through the upper airway is high.
