Approximately 20% of normal children occasionally snore. It has been estimated that nearly 7% to 10% of children snore every night.

There are several reasons why a child may snore. Everything that narrows the size of the airway cause snoring:

- Snoring may be caused by poor muscle tone in the muscles of the tongue and throat. That’s why the tongue can fall back into the airway during sleeping on the back. This may occurs when a child's muscle tone is very relaxed because of intake sedating medications. It also happens to some children when they relax into the deep stages of sleep.
- Enlarged adenoids and tonsils can cause snoring in children. Tumors or cysts could be present, but this is rare.
- An enlarged uvula may narrow the child's airway.
- Syndrome of Down, small jaw or other abnormalities of the facial development.
- Obstructed nasal passages. When a child has a blocked-up nose, he has to blow hard to exhale air through it. This makes a vacuum in his throat, which can pull the floppy tissues of the airway together.
- Congenital deformation of the nose.

Signs and symptoms of children snoring:

- Excessive daydreaming or falling asleep during the day.
- Intense sweating during sleep.
- Sleeping in an abnormal position, for example, your child may let his head down from the bed or elevate it with extra pillows.
- School and other behavioral problems.
- Daytime tiredness.
- Difficulty waking up, even after enough amount of sleep.
- Morning or daytime headaches.
- Aggressive, irritable or cranky behavior.

How can parents determine if their child's snoring is serious?

As a rule, sleep specialists divide snoring into two categories:
- primary snoring;
- snoring associated with obstructive sleep apnea.

Primary snoring is not usually harmful for your child.

Obstructive sleep apnea is much more serious. Children with it typically will experience some difficulty sleeping at night and behavioral problems during the day. Signs of this condition include snoring during sleep and a pause in the snoring of up to 10 seconds before breathing is resumed. This is followed by snorting, gasping for air or completely waking up before normal breathing is restored. Your child may be a restless sleeper, often waking.