Some kids have already started school and other’s like my daughter will begin this week. As a parent and health advocate I cannot stress enough how important it is to put your kids not only to bed early but to have a sleep ritual for them as well.
As my earlier post explained, not only does your body
“recharge” its energy but it also detoxes. Let me break it down to you. Since we are talking about children in school I will include
nursery school too. A child 1-3
years old requires 12-14 hours per day, 3-6 years old 10-12 hours, 7-12 years
old 10-11 hours, 12-18 years old 8- 9 hours of sleep a night.
Sleep is vital for growth, brain development and their
overall mood and well-being. We
have a country where autism rates instead of slowing down are increasing at
exponential rates and though there are cases that are valid and true as parents
we MUST ensure our children are getting the proper nutrition through their diet
and sleep.
It wasn’t long ago that I was a student taking classes in a
teach hospital where I would go grab coffee (literally like black tar) with the
med students and interns. Between
that and the lack of sleep between school and working fulltime. You can only guess what kind of
personality and mood I would be in.
It was like playing spin the wheel on the mood disorder. You never knew what you were going to
get!
So if as an adult that I would like to think I have more
control than a school aged child would get irritated and moody fairly easily
than what is to expect of a child that is learning when not to blow up?
Tonight is the night before my daughter goes back to
school. I had no issues what so
ever putting her to bed at 7pm.
Now I’m not saying every kid should go to bed at 7pm. Amanda gets picked up at 6:45am and is
up no later than 6am. She requires
that much sleep. I tried having
her go to bed at 8pm but she would struggle and it would cause tension in the
morning. Why put her and I through
that if I know what the solution is?
Just as an example here is our schedule (which I started weaning
back into it about 3.5-4 weeks ago)
Dinner: 4:30pm
Baths:
5:15-5:45pm
Free Playtime / Movie:
5:45-6:30pm
Bedtime: 6:30pm (really goes to sleep at 7pm but by the time
she’s done saying goodnight, brush teeth, glass of water and prayers, lights
aren’t out until 7pm)
Story time varies.
Sometimes it’s right before bedtime must most of the time it is
sandwiched somewhere during the day.
She is a child so once in a while I get a protest but for
the most part because not much changes both Amanda as well as Charlie know what
to expect because it has become their sleep ritual.
See what works for your child but the most important part is
to stick to the age appropriate hours of sleep for your child. And don’t forget to make memories
too! You’ll be surprised when your
child turns around to complain like mine did just recently. I told Amanda I had to finish laundry
and to do her prayers. She said,
“hey! You have to listen to them too!”
After all this is such a short period of time why are we rushing
it? Wishing you all a good night
sleep for yourself and your little ones.
Peace & Health
J-
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