Name: Lisa

NY, NY

Number of kids: 1

Ages of kids: 3

Problem: At night, my child snores. He is 4 years old, but sounds like an adult who has had a very hard day at night. He sounds like he's cutting wood, and my neighbors who live upstairs can hear him. I've tried turning him in different positions (He sleeps with me, as we have a studio apartment) but that does no good. I don't like to keep waking him up during the night as he has to go to school. In the morning, I find that I look like a zombie since I can't sleep. Help me please!

Solution submitted by Jan: My son had a snoring problem and was also having periods of apnea after he acquired a virus which made his tonsils swell. After 3 months of antibiotics and me laying with my son at night bumping him to take a breath when he stopped, I taped this episode and let the pediatrician hear it. She immediately got us an appointment with a surgeon who removed his tonsils and adenoids. He was 10 years old, had surgery on a Thursday and was back at school on Tuesday. He then needed less sleep, was more alert in school, had less absences, and gained weight! My brother, sister and I all had our tonsils out at the same time. I did the best as I was younger. Crushed banana flavored popsicles immediately after my son returned from surgery worked very well to soothe his throat, apple sauce, sweet potatoes, (no milk at first), stock up on soft foods he likes and probably children's liquid Tylenol before he goes in. Be prepared that he may try to dig in his mouth before the anesthetic wears off. If so, they may place arm boards on him until he's more awake. Good Luck.

Another solution submitted by Bahama from MI: We have the same problem. My son is 16 years old and we have dealt with this for some time. First I would take your child to his pediatrician. Most severe snoring cases in children are due to adenoids. These can be easily removed just like tonsils. They take both out when doing this operation. Although this is a solution, I never opted for it. My son still snores to beat the band. You should weigh the pros and cons of any surgery. Good Luck.

Another solution submitted by Teresa from OK: My daughter was having problems with recurring throat infections. The doctor said that he wanted to remove her adenoids. Before we went into surgery he told me to watch her sleep because if she was snoring or if she had a condition called sleep apnea that he would consider removing her tonsils at the same time. If your child snoring is so bad you may want to take him to the doctor and have his tonsils examined. Hope this is something you haven't already heard a thousand times but it may be the only thing left.