Bedtime vs. Total Sleep
As more and more families find that it's necessary for them to have two incomes, moms and dads aren't able to spend traditional time with their children. In some cases both parents get home late so having their children stick to a traditional bed time would mean loss of quality time with their children.
According Sara Harkenss, associate professor of human development and anthropology at Penn State University, "bedtime has kind of dropped by the wayside for many parents as an important component in a child's well-being, In today's world where two-career households and evening soccer practices are the norm, getting kids to bed by 8 p.m. isn't always possible."
There was a time when pediatricians would encourage parents to stick to an 8 to 8:30 pm bedtime. "Pediatricians in general have become more flexible in terms of guiding parents toward appropriate bedtimes," says Dr. Leslie Tadzynski Shur, an associate professor of clinical pediatrics at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey. It is now understood that total sleep time is more important than actual bedtime.
The time that you send your children to bed is not as important as how long you allow them to sleep. (see sleep needs ~We'll link to the chart on sleep needs~) Dr. Shur warns that total sleep time is crucial.
Dr. Rafael Pelayo, staff physician at the Stanford Sleep Disorders Clinic at Stanford University in Palo Alto, California says that "kids who don't get enough sleep tend to have behavioral problems." . He continues that when children are sleepy they unconsciously begin to look for things to stimulate them. Often this need emerges as disruptive behavior. Some of these kids, he says, seem hyperactive during the day. "But it's not hyperactivity -- it's actually sleep deprivation."
Another major sign of sleep deprivation, says Dr. Pelayo, is when a preadolescent child sleeps significantly later on the weekends than during the week. "Good sleepers don't sleep in over the weekend." According to the National Sleep Foundation, "teens need at least 8.5 - 9.25 hours of sleep each night, compared to an average of seven to nine hours each night for most adults. Their internal biological clocks also keep them awake later in the evening and keep them sleeping later in the morning. However, many schools begin classes early in the morning, when a teenager's body wants to be asleep. As a result, many teens come to school too sleepy to learn, through no fault of their own."
The Need for Routines and How to Make Changes
Sara Harkenss, associate professor of human development and anthropology at Penn State University, and her colleague, Charles Super, have studied families in Holland, where they studied that Dutch children go to bed by 7:30 each evening until age 7 or 8. Today's Dutch parents value routine.
Parents in the U.S. today place an emphasis on "maximizing their children's developmental capacities through educational activities and competitive activities." When you combine this with the reality of the two-income household, living by established routines is not a real option.
Many experts believe that sleep deprivation in young children is directly related to the failure to establish routines. "Think of sleep as a rhythm," says Dr. Pelayo. "The only way to get into a rhythm is to be consistent."
So then it's agreed that whatever the bedtime routine may be, it should be enforced in young children - at least through preschool age. Again, keep in mind that the actual bedtime is not as crucially important as the total sleep time.
Most children have an internal clock and will sleep as much as they need at each stage of their development, until awakened by an external source -alarm clock, a parent, or something else. "If your child is sleeping eight hours a day and is always cranky, unless there's an ear infection or other problem, he may not be getting enough sleep," Shur says.
In order to adjust your child to an earlier bedtime, move both the bedtime and waking time back by 15 minutes each day until you've reached the desired new bedtime. Also, if your child is accustomed to taking a nap in the afternoon, make sure that it isn't any longer than 45 minutes so that it doesn't interfere with their new bedtime. Naps that last longer than 45 minutes also allow for a much deeper sleep which can make for a cranky toddler when awakened. Gradually you and your children can reach a bedtime that works for everyone.
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