Your Child's Routine: Why Is It So Important?

TEN-AGER by Madonna King is an essential book for parents of all young kids.

It shows how the age of 10 is the new start of a girl’s teenage years. It raises issues our girls might not be talking about publicly, and guides their parents on how experts believe we should deal with it.

Not only is TEN-AGER the perfect guide to help parents understand how their daughter is feeling, what they need to know, what to say, and when to stay silent and listen it also has a whole chapter on SLEEP!

As we herd our children off to a new term of school it can be a great time to think about sleep and routine and if your child is getting enough sleep. Sleep is an essential building block for your child’s mental and physical health. It plays a crucial role in the development of young minds.

In addition to having a direct effect on happiness, research shows that sleep impacts alertness and attention, cognitive performance, mood, resiliency, learning and memory. I have created some tips to help make sure your child gets a good night’s sleep:

While sleep changes as our children grow through different stages. It is important to remember that consistent routine is helpful for making sure your child gets enough sleep. Try and stick to the same bed time and wake time and routine. Some more tips:

• Turn off computers, TV screens, video games and bright lights at least 1 hour before bed (2 hours if you can) is crucial, the light from these devices can interfere with the sleep hormone melatonin and can result in your child simply not feeling tired enough to go to sleep – this can then be a viscous cycle.

• Putting on pyjamas, going to the toilet and brushing teeth – these actions signal cues to the brain that it is time for bed.

• Reading a real book with soft bed lamp.

• Picking a stuffed animal for the night for toddlers.

My Children’s Sleep Routine

No TV or screens during the week (this helps with the daily battle), dimming lights in the house after dinner, I have great plug in sensor LED lights in the bathroom and hallway. Toilet and teeth and reading about half an hour before bed.

I also have diffusers in each bedroom and the kids use these with the Goodnight Essential Oil blend each night, and we have a night music machine that has a timer that they like to listen to while going to sleep.

And it's as simple as that! Sweet Dreams...