What do I need to know about school-age children and sleep?

 

School-aged children still need somewhere between 9 and 12 hours of sleep at night. At this age, kids usually start a trend toward becoming more and more sleep deprived. As the parents, you will need to help figure out how much sleep your child needs. Your child is getting the right amount of sleep if they:

 

* Can fall asleep within 15 to 30 minutes.

 

* Can wake up easily at the time they need to get up and don't need you to keep bugging them to get up.

 

* Are awake and alert all day, and don't need a nap during the day. Check with your child's teacher and make sure your child is able to stay awake and alert during school.

 

In other words, if your child can go to bed, fall asleep easily, wake up easily and not be tired during the day, then they're probably getting enough sleep.

 

Is your child complaining about a bedtime that's earlier than their friends' bedtimes, and saying that everyone else gets to stay up later? Let them know that every child is different and that this is their bedtime. Tell your kid that you're keeping their bedtime at the right time for them because it's healthy. They'll feel better during the day if they sleep well at night.

 

One survey of kindergarten through fourth grade kids and their teachers found that teachers reported that about 10 percent of the kids were falling asleep in school. Like us adults, many of our school-age kids are sleep deprived. Remember, letting kids stay up later isn't doing them a favor.

 

Here are some "Do's and Don'ts":

 

DO:

 

* Make bedtime a special time. It should be a time for you to interact with your child in a way that is secure and loving, yet firm. At bedtime, spend some special time with your child. Be firm and go through a certain bedtime routine that your child is used to. At the end of that routine the lights go off and it is time to fall asleep.

 

* Put some thought into finding your child's ideal bedtime. In the evening, look for the time when your child really is starting to slow down and getting physically tired. That's the time that they should be going to sleep, so get their bedtime routine done and get them into bed before that time. If you wait beyond that time, then your child tends to get a second wind. At that point they will become more difficult to handle, and will have a harder time falling asleep.

 

* Use a simple, regular bedtime routine. It should not last too long and should take place primarily in the room where the child will sleep. It may include a few simple, quiet activities, such as a light snack, bath, cuddling, saying goodnight and a story or lullaby. The kinds of activities in the routine will depend on the child's age.

 

* Make sure your kids have interesting and varied activities during the day, including physical activity and fresh air.

 

* Use light to your advantage. Keep lights dim in the evening as bedtime approaches. In the morning, get your child into bright light, and, if possible, take them outside. Light helps signal the brain into the right sleep-wake cycle.

 

DON'T:

 

* Don't fill up your child's bed with toys. It's probably best to keep your child's bed a place to sleep, rather than a place to play. Too many toys in the bed can be distracting. One or two transitional objects -- like a favorite doll, a security blanket or a special book -- are OK, and can help with separation issues.

 

* Never use sending your child to bed as a threat. Bedtime needs to be a secure, loving time, not a punishment. Your goal is to teach your kids that bedtime is enjoyable, just as it is for us adults. If the feeling around bedtime is a good feeling, your child will fall asleep easier.

 

* Don't give your child foods and drinks with caffeine in them, like hot chocolate, tea, cola, chocolate, etc. Even caffeine earlier in the day could disrupt your child's sleep cycle.

 

* Don't let your child watch more than one to two hours of TV during the day, and don't let them watch TV at bedtime at all. TV viewing at bedtime has been linked to poor sleep.

 

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If you have questions or need additional information, contact me at the UT Extension Office, 824 E. Elk Ave., Elizabethton, call 542-1818, or e-mail me at bbstreet@utk.ed.