Tips to Ensure Your Child Gets Enough Sleep

With the start of the new school year, parents and school-age children tend to both struggles with adjusting themselves to their new early morning schedules. Unfortunately for kids, it’s harder to adjust to going to bed and waking up early on the weeknights.

Sleep deprivation is physically and emotionally draining for kids, even if they don’t show it. And instability can cause behavioral problems, adding stress to the parents. With electronics constantly in reach, it’s harder for kids to settle down at night while their brains are still being stimulated late into the night, according to physicians.

To ensure your children are getting the rest they need, physicians recommend the following:

Limit access to electronics at night. Children should be limited to how much time they spend on electronics after supper time. Allow them to watch some TV with the family, but other than that, restrict any video games or electronics being used in the bedroom.

Teach them that the bed is for sleeping. Adults are guilty of this too, but the use of phones or laptops in beds make it more difficult for children to fall asleep at night. When the bed is associated with playing on their phone or laptop, children will crave that rather than sleep. By associating the bed only with sleeping, it’s much easier to relax and fall asleep at night.

A healthy bedtime routine is a must. After dinner each night during the school year, parents should try to set in place a routine for their children to follow each night. If your child prefers to go to sleep later, try pushing their bedtime up earlier in small increments. This will help the child adjust to an earlier bedtime rather than forcing a strict time after a summer without a routine.