A toddler’s unusual bedtime request puzzled his mother when he asked for his leaf blower to help him sleep. These early years of parenting often come with challenges, especially sleep deprivation.
In 2019, a study published in the scientific journal Sleep analyzed data from 4,659 parents. It revealed that children can affect parents’ sleep longer than expected. Initially, mothers lost around an hour of sleep each night in the first three months after birth, while fathers lost about 15 minutes. Alarmingly, pre-pregnancy sleep levels weren’t fully restored even when children reached ages 4 to 6.
Anne-Maree Leonard, based in Perth, Australia, is a mother of two boys under 2 years old and experiencing the challenges of parenting and sleepless nights. Recently, her oldest son, Angus, who is nearly 2 years old, made a surprising request as he struggled to sleep.
“It was around two months ago,” Leonard told Newsweek. “He wouldn’t go to sleep and kept requesting his ‘blower.'”
This request seemed strange, but Leonard knew what Angus meant.
“Angus loves using the leaf blower with his dad every Saturday,” she said. “We got him a toy leaf blower, and it’s his favorite toy.” Although it makes a noise similar to a real leaf blower, it doesn’t blow air.
Despite the potential noise, Leonard decided to give it a try. “It was like, ‘If you want it and you’ll go to sleep, take the blower,'” she shared. Surprisingly, the blower worked, and Angus fell asleep quickly.
“It was mind-blowing that this toy would become his comfort toy,” Leonard said. “Now he cuddles it to sleep and soothes himself with the noise every night.” Angus also enjoys his toy chainsaw, toolbox, and drill. Leonard jokes about a future in skilled trades for him.
After weeks of sleep struggles, Leonard and her husband now see Angus drift off to sleep with the toy blower’s low noise in the background. “He uses the noise for a few minutes and then he’s asleep,” she explained.
Leonard shared a video of Angus asleep with the blower online, where other mothers empathized with the lengths they’ll go for a peaceful night.
The effectiveness of the toy’s noise isn’t entirely understood. Research suggests background noise helps young children sleep. A study in Archives of Disease in Childhood found 80% of newborns slept within five minutes with white noise, compared to 25% in a control group. Such sounds might soothe children by masking sudden noises and mimicking the sounds they hear before birth.
Leonard feels relieved Angus is now sleeping better, finding joy in the humorous moments parenting provides.
Newsweek editors on this story: Marc Vargas and Emma Lee-Sang
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