This morning my kid wanted to come with me to my other job (teaching exercise bootcamps--it's basically the opposite of blogging) so I got her up at 5:30 a.m. and off we went. Of course last night she stayed up a little late so my sister could read her two chapters of her latest Lemony Snicket book. And I think the night before that we had family movie screening, so it was a late-ish bedtime. I mean, she has an approximate bedtime, but then there's stuff we wanna do, and when some family members get home late and want to spend some quality moments together, we flex it some, and our morning rising time isn't totally consistent... But what harm can all that do?
Turns out, a hell of a lot. I must tell you I read countless studies and articles on studies and parenting blah blah every day, but this piece from New York magazine is possibly the first to motivate me to dramatically change my priorities. Because there's a giant mountain of evidence that losing sleep for kids is tied to worse performance in school. And to poor impulse control. And depression. And obesity. All things I had heard before, but when you put it all together like this in such a disturbing and compelling argument, well, I'm sold. I only wish they included more info on how many hours of slumber kids at different ages need.
My big change? I get that a regular bedtime and rising time, as well as sufficient zzzz's, are crucial for kids on so many levels, and we need to elevate the importance of sleep in our daily routine. We have to make it a consistent routine. We have to up both the quality and the quantity, even if it means making tough choices, like giving up or cutting short an activity (with occasional exceptions, natch.) Part of the problem for us is that the adults in the house neglect our own sleep regularly in favor of work and entertainment and so on. And I think it's only fair we amend that one as well, because I do believe in leading by example. And I tend to get about six hours a night, which isn't enough.
And how do you help kids sleep? Well, you could, um, go pills or cage. Plan B: There's this nice rundown, also from NY mag. And I'll summarize some key points by saying: a regular bedtime in a cool room with no pre-bed television chillout. Naps alone won't cut it. And again: A. Regular. Bedtime. The faux drill sergeant side of me is already getting excited by the idea of a precise, orderly, and enforced routine.
