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The establishment of a dedicated paediatric sleep unit over the past three years has allowed detailed investigation of a large number of children with sleep associated upper airway obstruction. This thesis explores the characteristics of upper airway obstruction and sleep associated breathing control abnormalities, in children who have been investigated in that unit. The "unit" began with three or four people performing children’s sleep studies at the Sleep Unit (for adults) at RPAH; the results presented here include those studies. The methods used in this thesis have evolved through practical experience acquired in caring for children with breathing disorders in sleep. This thesis is presented in two parts. The studies in the first section provide an overview of the presentation and treatment of the syndrome of obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) as it occurs in infants and children. The second section is a more detailed exploration of OSA and its treatment in achondroplasia. These latter studies provide further insights into the disorder in this specific group, and therefore into some aspects of OSA in the broader population of children.