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Newspaper Article:
Maryland Family Magazine
Written by Kim West, LCSW-C, "The Sleep Lady ®"
October 2001
"Is Your Child Getting Enough Sleep?"
According to new research from the National Institutes of Health,
sleep problems affect more than 70 million Americans each year,
and a growing number of them are young children.
There are many different kinds of sleep problems in children, such
as nightmares; night terrors; frequent awakenings during the night;
sleep walking; sleep apnea; narcolepsy; bed-wetting; needing to
be walked, rocked or fed to sleep and more.
Good sleep habits are essential for us to be successful, happy adults
and for our children's personal development and well-being. The
right amount and quality of sleep impact our children's attention
spans, school performance, flexibility, irritability, ability to
play independently and to take in fully and learn from their environment.
What are "good sleep habits" and how do we know if our children
are getting enough sleep? In general, children need more sleep than
adults to support their rapid growth and learning. Exactly how much
sleep varies depending on the child's age and individual needs.
However, variations should not be huge. Check the chart below for
the average number of hours of sleep your child requires:
| AGE AVERAGE |
TOTAL SLEEP HOURS NEEDED |
| 6 months old |
14 ½ (includes 2 naps- 3 ¼ hours) |
| 1 year old |
13 ¾ (includes 2 naps- 2 ½ hours) |
| 2 years old |
13 (includes 1 nap- 2 hours) |
| 3 years old |
12 (includes 1 nap- 1 ½ hours) |
| 4 years old |
11 ½ |
| 5 years old |
11 |
| 6-9 years old |
10-10 ¾ |
| 10-18 years old |
9-12 |
How well your child functions during the day is another indicator
of the amount of night time sleep he or she needs. Is your child
cranky, irritable or overtired during the day? Does your child regularly
fall asleep in the car? Does your child wake frequently during the
night (and is over 4 months old)? Does your younger child refuse
naps, yet acts tired during the day?
You can help your child to be a good sleeper by following these
healthy sleep habits:
- Create a consistent, calming bedtime routine. This is helpful
for all ages. As an adult, you have routines to prepare for sleep
- taking a bath, reading, stretching, listening to soothing music.
Children need routines too. The last part of the bedtime routine
should occur in their bedroom. This can be a very special one-on-one
time with your child. Remember, routines are comforting to children
because it gives them a sense of control and understanding of
what is "coming next"
- Designate a regular bedtime and wake-up time. Give 5 or 10 minute
warnings before bedtime or use a timer. Weekend bedtime and wakeup
time should only vary by an hour. There will always be exceptions,
but try not to make them the rule.
- Look for signs of your child's "natural bedtime". Your child's
natural bedtime is when they will be able to go to sleep easily
and with little crying. A rule of thumb: Overtired children often
become "wired", making it difficult for them to fall asleep and
stay asleep.
- Dedicate your children's bed to quiet activities prior to sleep.
This is not a place for rough housing or time-out prior to sleep
time.
- Avoid scary or violent television shows and video games prior
to bed.
- Affirm that there are no "bogeymen or monsters" in your children's
room. Don't feed into their fears by looking in the closet or
under the bed for monsters since they don't exist. If your child
is having scary dreams, try reading children's books about scary
dreams.
- Decrease the light in their bedroom and the noise heard from
other parts of your home.
- Avoid caffeine six hours prior to bedtime and exercise four-six
hours prior to bedtime.
- Good naps promote nighttime sleep. Don't let your young child
become nap deprived. Naps are important to young children. When
children are nap deprived, it can negatively affect their night
sleep. Sleep deprivation is cumulative and cannot be easily recovered
in one long night's rest.
- Teach your children to put themselves to sleep. Whether your
children sleep with you or in their own beds, help them learn
to put themselves to sleep. This is a skill they will need the
rest of their life!
- Adjust your children's sleep patterns for the school year. If
your children have been staying up later during the summer evenings,
start to re-adjust their internal clocks to an earlier bedtime
to accommodate their earlier rising for school. Start to move
their bedtime earlier in 15 minutes increments every few days
and wakening them 15 minutes earlier than they have been waking
in the summer. Continue to move their bedtime earlier until they
are at their ideal bedtime - one that will allow them to get enough
sleep for the school day (see chart).
- Stay with your bedtime routine and schedule when the time changes
in the fall. When the clocks move back in the fall, your children
may awaken too early for several days to a week. Stay with their
usual bedtime and they will adjust to the time change. This adjustment
is more difficult for sleep-deprived children so protect your
children's need for sleep!
It is important to discuss concerns about your children's sleep
with your pediatrician. If your children are snoring, have loud
or irregular breathing during sleep or are having disturbed sleep,
particularly if the problem is persistent and affects their daytime
behavior, talk to your pediatrician.
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