Summertime is often accompanied by the arrival of the much-anticipated summer holidays. Kids look forward to their summer holidays all year long as they get to say goodbye to school work and enjoy time with their friends and family. Interestingly, many parents find it difficult to set up regular schedules for their kids during the summer holidays. This causes many discrepancies in the sleeping habits of their progeny which can have a negative effect on their growth and all-round development. Sleep is essential for growing kids, as it is during this time that their bodies heal damaged tissues and muscles. Their brains also work hard to retain and organize new information while the kids sleep. According to recent studies, school going kids require at least ten hours of sleep every day for their young bodies to remain healthy.
Parents Need To Guide Them:
During summer, the day tends to grow longer and the nights shorter. Parents often take a more lenient approach and let the kids stay up late and wake up during different times of the day during the summer holidays. Unfortunately, this can disrupt their sleeping schedule and play havoc with their sleeping habits. A consistent routine is the best way to enforce a sleeping schedule. If you are planning on sending your kids to camp this summer, they will probably need to get used to waking up fairly early. This can be accomplished only if they go to bed on time the night before. So it is a good idea to stick to an early bedtime even if it is not dark yet outside.
Although teenagers do tend to catch up on their sleep during the summer holidays, more often than not, they tend to stay up late all night and make up for it by sleeping till noon. This plays havoc with their natural biorhythm. If you are finding it difficult to get your teenager to stick to a sleeping routine, try sending them for activities or even encouraging them to take up a part-time job. This will require them to get up on time in the morning to reach work on time. Some teenagers take up internships in different companies to build up an impressive resume for when they start applying to college. This can also be useful in helping them stick to a regular sleeping schedule rather than sleeping when they feel like it. Top mattress companies like Wakefit offer different mattress sizes to suit growing kids.
Studies have shown kids often tend to put on weight during the summer holidays. This is a result of their disrupted sleeping routine. Recent studies have shown that people who stay up late tend to eat more junk food and calorie-laden food than usual which leads to pounds piling up gradually. If you want your kids to have a healthy lifestyle, it is essential to teach them how to stick to regular sleeping routine along with healthy diet habits.
A bedtime routine is a great way to help your kids wind down and get ready for bed. A typical bedtime routine for a school going kid includes:
- An evening bath.
- Brushing their teeth.
- Reading a book.
- Lying down with their eyes closed in their darkened room.
If your child is on the younger side, you can help them stick to the routine by reading a story aloud and lying down with them till they fall asleep. A night light is useful in helping them stay in bed even if they do awaken in the middle of the night. In order to make sure that your kids stick to a sleep schedule, it is essential to take away or stop them from using any kind of electronic devices. Devices like laptops, mobiles, tablets, etc. emit a blue light which stimulates the brain and tricks it into staying awake for long hours. It is also essential to make sure that your kids have a comfortable mattress to ensure that they are able to sleep comfortably through the night during their summer holidays.