toddlers sleep and temperament reporting bias or a valid link a research note objective sleep measures derived from a computerized movement detector attached to the childs leg were obtained for a group of 31 toddlers mean age 185 months the monitored sleep parameters were compared with maternal assessment of the childs sleep and her perception of his temperament the validity of maternal diaries as a measure of the childs sleep was not supported nevertheless a link between both subjective and objective sleep measures with temperament dimensions was indicated the modest association between sleep and temperament may suggest either a continuity between some aspects of day and nighttime functioning or alternatively the influence of the childs sleep behavior in shaping the mothers perceptions of her toddlers temperament