May 22, 2008

The Importance of Sleep

Parents spend a lot of time worrying about their baby’s and toddler’s sleep, but once a child is older, sleep seems to be less of an issue. Most big kids go to bed without too much trouble, sleep soundly for the entire night and begin to learn strategies for dealing with lack of sleep just like their parents do.

But, as I discovered this week, sleep can be an issue for an older child, too. I received a note from my oldest son’s third grade teacher saying that he was having trouble focusing at school. As soon as I read the note, I knew the problem was lack of sleep.

With two younger kids whose behavior is strongly affected by lack of sleep, bedtime efforts go towards getting them to bed each night. My oldest son is happy to have this time with his dad. Often they will get involved in a computer game or just enjoy hanging out together. None of us think of his bedtime until it’s late. One day last week, we discovered that it was 10:30 at night and my third grader was still up gaming with his dad!

The note from his teacher made us realize that we were slowly letting these late nights become a habit. No wonder he was having trouble focusing at school. We are back to a structured bedtime for him and already, we’ve noticed a difference.

Good sleep habits are something we need to continue to teach our children. We have to make an effort to remind ourselves that, even when they are past the age of having a tantrum when they are tired, children of all ages still need adequate sleep.

For more articles on sleep, see the Children’s Sleep Article Index.