Does Your Child Get Enough Sleep? Does your child get enough sleep? To answer this question, it is best to go to the experts. Below is a chart by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM) that shows how much is needed at different stages of your child’s life. Remember, these totals include naps. After consulting the chart, you may realize that your child is not getting the recommended hours of sleep. Here are some tips provided by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) to help you increase those sleep hours: Be a Role Model. Set a good example by making sleep a priority for yourself. Talk about how much better you feel when you have enough sleep. Keep to a regular daily routine. Not only do routines help your child feel safe and comfortable, but they also make for a smooth bedtime. Staying with the same routine, such as brush, book, bed can make bedtime easier wherever you are.
Be active during the day. Physical activity and fresh air during the day make for better sleep at night. Monitor screen time. The AAP recommends keeping all screens— TVs, computers, laptops, tablets, and phones -- out of children’s bedrooms, especially at night. To prevent sleep disruption, turn off all screens at least an hour before bedtime.
Book of the Month: Rhyming Dust Bunnies
Rhyming Dust Bunnies by Jan Thomas is a silly story that helps children practice the important skill of rhyming. Each page gives a word and asks what rhymes. Before turning the page to find the answer, have your child brainstorm a list of words that rhyme. The surprise ending will have you laughing just as much as the silly nonsense words that your child may list. At this age, naming nonsense words is fine if they follow the rhyme pattern. After they have the skill mastered, then you can talk about whether they are “real” words or not.
Make bed a place to sleep. Don’t fill up your child’s bed with toys. One or two things—a favorite doll or bear, a security blanket—are okay and can help ease separation anxiety. Following these tips and the recommended sleep guidelines will have your child waking up wellrested and ready to take on the day!
The Week of the Young Child™ is an annual celebration sponsored by the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC), the world’s largest early childhood education association. LCCAA Head Start will participate in events between April 10 and 16. Families and children are invited to join a fun-filled week celebrating early learning, young children, their teachers, families, and communities. The schedule will include: Music Monday, Tasty Tuesday, Work Together Wednesday, Artsy Thursday and Family Friday. Additional details will be posted on Classtag.
