Sleep deprivation eats into child development

[dArKeR]

By the age of two, children have spent 13 months of their lives asleep. Sleep, as every parent knows, is central to child wellbeing.
But as parents know equally well, bedtime can be the biggest battleground of family life.

There are three main sleep difficulties in children: falling asleep, staying asleep and being too sleepy in the daytime. Every parent experiences at least one of them at some point or other.

Perhaps because of this, and because disturbed nights have become regarded as almost normal, we fail to appreciate just how important sleep is for our children's health. In fact, sleep has a major impact on their physical development and growth: when your mom told you you wouldn't grow up big and strong if you didn't go to bed, she was spot on. Research has shown that children who do not sleep as much as they should are smaller than they ought to be.

http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/editorials/archives/2005/07/31/2003265816

[PunkPop]

1. I tell my kids that exact same thing.

I really only had the vaguest notion that it was actually true. Just trying to get them to GO TO SLEEP.

Always nice to see documented proof that I'm not just spouting typical parent's BS. Thanks.

[On the Road]

2. This is Not Just True for Small Children

I have a huge complaint against the Montgomery County Maryland high schools, which start at 7:25 in the morning. This means my daughter has to get up at 5:45 on school days. To get eight hours of sleep, she would have to fall asleep at 9:45. No high school kid does that.

This means that every kid in the school is sleep deprived. Plus the school gets out at 2:30, leaving latchkey kid lots of time to get into trouble. (Not worried about her, but the early release time exacerbates a big problem.)

[PunkPop]

3. No kidding!!

Starting school at 7:25 is outrageous.

We started HS at 8:30. I would have been totally useless if they were dragging my butt in to class starting at 7:25 everyday.

[jojo54]

4. Grandson going through this same thing right now.

He'll be 4 in a few weeks, and he's not sleeping thru the night. I told my dauther he needs a nap everyday, and after some research, she's finally realized that. Whew!

[mopinko]

5. you are singing my song

as someone whose life has been hindered by a sleep disorder, i can vouch for the destructive force of disturbed sleep.
i also have 5 kids, and the dumbest thing i have ever seen is schools that make teenagers get up earlier. high schools should run from 10 to 5. schools that have moved start times in the direction that the teenage body clock moves biologically experience a marked drop in behavior problems, and a marked increase in student achievement. for free! by doing one simple thing!! one simple, scientifically proven thing!!! most of the teachers i have talked to all agree with this, and would like to sleep later themselves.
so why are we not doing this?
i have a kid with a free running circadian clock. sleep made him drop out of high school. i kept screaming at his counselor who said, yeah, i know, a lot of my problem kids have sleep issues. this was at the gifted high school. so, the best and brightest in the city were just thrown away. for no reason. argh.

[On the Road]

6. The Excuse the Schools Use

is that the buses have to be used twice. They start the elementary schools later, which to me is perverse. Smaller children are able to go to bed earlier.

[mopinko]

7. few kids are bussed here

especially to the high schools.