A recentUniv. of Montreal study of 987 children followed from age five months to six years found that babies with sleep problems - difficulty in getting to sleep, awakening at night with nightmares or even having less 10 hours of sleep at night are likely to have more sleep problems in their childhood.

This new study is being published in the April issue of Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine.

How the parents cope up with these problems could ease or worsen the situation.

The study says that it is okay to give the baby something to drink or eat when he wakes up at night but not until the baby is 29 to 41 months old.

Co-author Tore Nielsen, director of the Dream and Nightmare Laboratory at Hôpital du Sacré-Coeur de Montréal said that if parents are still clinging to this habit, their babies will continue to have these sleeping problems until the child is four to six years old.

Nielsen added that instead of giving the baby something to drink or chew when they woke up because of nightmares, physical attachment and comforting words might be of help before putting them back to sleep.

Dr. Nielsen, a psychiatrist believes that nightmares are caused by interpersonal difficulties.

The study's authors wrote that it takes more than 15 minutes before a child could return to sleep after a night time awakening if they are allowed to sleep with their parents. However, a mother's presence at the beginning of sleep appeared to be protective.