Not having enough sleep affects your child's:
- Behaviour and attitude: Children tend to be less energetic and more negative after a poor night’s sleep.
- Mood: Your child will be more easily upset and more temperamental.
- Concentration: They will find it much more difficult to focus for any length of time.
- Memory: Children do not retain nearly as much information if they are tired compared to if they are not tired.
- Ability to understand new ideas: Your child will be more easily confused after little sleep.
- Creativity: Children are more creative, aware and playful after a good night’s sleep.
- Physical health: They will not grow as much as they should, and will be more susceptible to becoming sick.
And many more symptoms..!
Please follow the above guidelines as closely as possible to determine the amount of sleep your child will need. Make sure your children have a steady home routine and that bedtime is set at the same time every night. Encourage reading before bed and avoid ‘screen time’. If your child complains about this, please refer to the Learning Support blog post about helping with your child's behaviour at home.
Make sleep a priority. Don’t do just do this for school, please do it for you and your children.
Steve Jennins, Learning Support Teacher