Children’s Breathing and Airway Issues

Many children today experience subtle yet significant breathing and airway issues that can affect not only their respiratory health but also their overall development.

One of the most common problems is chronic mouth breathing.

This often begins in infancy or early childhood and can be caused by factors such as allergies, enlarged adenoids or tonsils, frequent respiratory infections or structural problems like tongue-tie.

While mouth breathing might seem harmless, when it becomes habitual, it disrupts the normal function and development of the airway and facial structures.

A major concern is the way improper breathing influences craniofacial development.

When children breathe through their mouths instead of their noses, their tongue tends to rest low in the mouth instead of pressing against the roof of the palate. This altered tongue posture, combined with the downward pull of jaw and facial muscles, can cause the upper jaw to narrow and the face to grow longer.

These changes may reduce airway volume and increase the risk of dental issues, poor posture and even obstructive sleep disorders later in life. The earlier these patterns develop, the more deeply ingrained they become.

Another key issue is sleep-disordered breathing in children, which includes snoring, sleep apnea and frequent night-time awakenings.

These problems often go undetected because children may not show obvious signs of breathing difficulty while awake. However, disrupted sleep due to airway obstruction can lead to symptoms that mimic ADHD, such as poor concentration, hyperactivity, irritability, and mood swings.

Many children with these behaviours are misdiagnosed or treated with medications, when in fact their underlying issue may be poor sleep quality due to airway dysfunction.

Breathing dysfunction is not only structural or mechanical, but also functional and neurological.

Some children breathe too quickly or irregularly even when their airways are clear, a pattern often tied to stress, anxiety or poor postural habits. These dysfunctional breathing patterns can reduce oxygen efficiency, trigger nervous system arousal and impair the body’s natural rest-and-repair systems.

For growing children, this means increased fatigue, reduced resilience to illness, and potential impacts on emotional and cognitive development.

Breathing is a foundational function that shapes many aspects of a child’s health—from facial structure to attention span, immune function and emotional regulation.

As parents, educators and/or health professionals, you can look out for early signs of airway and breathing dysfunction—such as habitual mouth breathing, noisy sleep, narrow faces, forward head posture or frequent sighing and yawning.

Identifying these red flags early is essential to preventing long-term developmental and health complications.