What should parents do if their child snores?

My daughter underwent adenoidectomy due to enlarged adenoids severely affecting her sleep.

This was once an extremely distressing and troubling issue for me. Before the surgery, she often snored while sleeping, and I would crouch by her bed listening to her breathing—when her snoring was loud, I worried she wasn’t getting enough air; when it was quiet, I feared she might have stopped breathing.

Whenever she caught a cold, she couldn’t sleep due to breathlessness. She would be exhausted, finally about to fall asleep, only to wake up gasping, then sit up crying. After crying herself to exhaustion, she’d lie down again, only to be jolted awake once more. Often, she could only sleep briefly while leaning against an adult. This cycle repeated until dawn, and the heartache remains vivid in my memory.

Fortunately, after much hesitation, we opted for surgery, and the problem disappeared completely afterward. Sometimes I think, if not for modern medicine, her sleep deprivation might have continued indefinitely.

The reason obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) torments many parents is that symptoms in children often fluctuate, leaving caregivers torn—during bad episodes, they rush to consider surgery, but when things improve, they hope it might resolve on its own.

During that difficult period, I researched extensively and later shared her entire treatment journey. These posts helped many parents realize that snoring in children doesn’t mean deep sleep but may indicate airway obstruction, prompting timely treatment. Below are the American Academy of Pediatrics’ key recommendations on OSAS:

All children/adolescents should be screened for snoring.

Children/adolescents who snore or show OSAS symptoms should undergo polysomnography. If unavailable, alternative diagnostic tests or referral to a specialist for further evaluation is advised.

Adenotonsillectomy is recommended as first-line treatment for tonsillar/adenoid hypertrophy.

High-risk patients should undergo postoperative inpatient monitoring.

Postoperative patients require reevaluation for additional treatment needs.

For those not undergoing surgery or with persistent OSAS post-surgery, continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) therapy is recommended.

Overweight/obese children should pursue weight loss alongside treatment.

Mild OSAS (apnea-hypopnea index <5/hour) in children with surgical contraindications or residual mild OSAS post-surgery may be treated with intranasal corticosteroids.

Therefore, if your child snores, consult an ENT specialist. Ideally, undergo sleep monitoring to confirm OSAS and its severity (though overnight polysomnography is labor-intensive and undercompensated, making some hospitals reluctant to offer it). An ENT can then analyze the cause. If tonsillar/adenoid hypertrophy is confirmed, moderate-to-severe cases primarily require surgery.

Children naturally have prominent adenoids—not all with enlarged adenoids snore, not all snorers have sleep apnea, and not all cases demand immediate surgery. But if your child snores, take it seriously and seek medical evaluation promptly to determine the best course of action.