Helping Your Child Sleep A Guide For Parents Of School-Age Children

1. Helping Your Child Sleep A Guide For Parents Of School-Age Children Marlene H. Rhodes,MS, OTR/L River Edge Elementary Schools

2. The Importance of Sleep Although the full benefits of sleep are not understood, we know that it is essential for daytime alertness, integrating experiences into memories, and allowing the body to repair itself and to grow.

3. How Much Sleep Is Needed? • Most preschoolers need between 10 and 12 hours of sleep a night. • The amount of sleep a child needs decreases every year. • Sleep lengths vary depending on the child’s level of physical activity, individual temperament, and overall health.

4. How Do I Know If My Child Is Getting Enough Sleep? • Is your child difficult to wake up in the morning? • Is your child often irritable or cranky in the evening? • Does your child seem to lack energy? • Have teachers reported that your child has difficulty staying alert or paying attention in school? • Does your child occasionally refuse to eat because they’re too tired? • Does your child have difficulty settling to sleep because they’re overstimulated?

5. Monsters Under the Bed • Whether rooted in an active imagination, a major life change or other reasons, nighttime fears can hold your child back from getting the sleep they need. • These fears may prevent them falling asleep, or wake them with nightmares and even night terrors.

6. Reducing Nighttime Fears • Make it a firm rule to turn off computer games, the television and videos one hour before bedtime. Consider a ‘no weekday TV’ rule for children who are distracted by the previous evening’s shows while in school. • Limit scary stories, whether you read them to your child or they choose that as that bedtime reading. • Allow your children to talk to you about worries, concerns and fears but focus more on reassuring them in the evenings and postponing more detailed discussions for the daytime.

7. Create A Soothing Environment • Consider a dim light in your child’s room if they are afraid of the dark. Alternatively, if the home is quiet, leave open their bedroom door and keep on a hall light. • If sounds are a factor in keeping them awake, try a white noise machine, a recording of soothing sounds or soft music. • View your child’s room “through their eyes”. Check for penetrating lights, shadows, ventilation noises or other distractions that may interfere with a relaxing mood.

8. Bedtime Routines All children need a way to wind down after a busy day. Following a consistent routine helps establish the act of falling asleep, and staying asleep, a nightly habit. • Develop a purposeful, soothing nighttime ritual. • The nightly repetition of this ritual will establish a firm connection of sleep with the sequence of these actions. • Include productive actions, such a brushing teeth, and playful actions such as kisses or a silly song. • Limit roughhousing or other stimulating play.

9. Hidden Stimulants • Monitor your child’s intake of sodas, chocolates, ice teas, or other foods that contain caffeine. • Discuss with your child’s doctor the side effects of any daily medications that may include insomnia. • Be aware that seasonal medications, or ones for acute or chronic illnesses, may interfere with sleep. • Overtiredness, hunger, congestion, and other physical symptoms may interfere with your child falling asleep, sleeping soundly or staying asleep.