I am a person who is in bed, in my night clothes by 9 pm. Of course, I am an at-home mom whose day begins, whether I like it or not, by 6 am. On top of that, I run a business and am responsible for three little’uns under 5 for most of the day. I know that sleep is important for my sanity and I make an effort to get at least 7 hours a night. But how does sleep (or lack thereof) affect our children?

Again, as I think back to my days as a teacher in an urban school district, I noticed that some of the children in my class were simply not getting enough sleep. They came in late, saying that they overslept and leaned their heads on their hands for most of the morning. They seemed to recuperate a bit after lunch, but by then, had nearly slept through a lot of important instruction. Being a bit of a nosy teacher, I would talk to them privately and ask if they had gotten enough sleep the night before. I couldn’t believe some of what I heard. Between evening church services that lasted until 11 pm - 12 pm at night, television/movies, video games, visitors, grocery shopping and the like, it seemed that many children are up and about until 10 pm or later in the evening, which of course adversely affects their performance in school the next day. If you couple that with poor nutrition (see my previous post) then you’re setting a child up for failure.

How much sleep is necessary? Each child is different of course, but according to several sites, a school aged child needs about 9-10 hours per night. Furthermore, a teenager needs even more sleep to cope with puberty….but are children getting the sleep that they need? If we look at our busy lives, many of us would have to say no. Because of work schedules, homework, team sports, lessons and other extracurricular activities, many school children are not getting the sleep that they need. And lack of sleep can adversely affect their school performance, attitude and mood.

As an African-American, black, Mocha or whatever you want to call me – mom, I feel strongly that we as parents really need to pay attention to this important aspect of our children’s lives. Turn off the TV. Unplug the video games. At 7:30 – 8 pm, start winding them down with a book, a cup of warm milk, some cheese, or a bit of yogurt. Ease them down into sleep. Help them relax. Their little bodies need this sleep.

Now, I know you working parents’ schedule is sometimes later than you would like for the little ones. This is understandable as not everyone is at liberty to pick their own hours. But, whatever the time you are able, get the children to bed as soon as you can. It’s really, really important!

Oh, what time do my children go to bed? 7 pm. Yup. Maybe in the summer they can stretch it out till 8 pm, but no more than that. Between 7 and 8 pm, my 5, 3 and 2 year old are in the bed. Of course, they get up at 6 am, but that’s yet another story.

How many of you, dear readers, wish your children would go to bed earlier? Leave me some comments below.

Peace, love and a good night’s sleep!

Want to get your children to go to bed earlier? Stay tuned for my free e-course on “Children and Sleep” simplify your life, achieve an earlier bedtime. Be sure to subscribe!

N’Mama

Resources:

http://kidshealth.org/parent/general/sleep/sleep.html

http://www.webmd.com/sleep-disorders/guide/sleep-children

http://www.plateaupediatrics.com/sleepinfo.html