Our bus picks up at 7:12am ...yes, you read that correctly. It’s so early. After 7 years of this schedule, I still think “it’s too early” every. single day. So we have to get to bed and turn the lights out by 7:30pm or at least that’s my goal each night
"They are growing in leaps and bounds from every part of their body, especially their brain."
You’re probably thinking – 11 ½ hours of sleep?? Yes, absolutely, unequivocally, yes! And honestly, that’s through 4th or 5th grade!
Children at this age, not only need this sleep physically, but mentally as well.
They are growing in leaps and bounds from every part of their body, especially their brain.
Even just trying to follow school rules or “act appropriately” can be tiresome. Learning academics, social norms, and navigating friendships for the first time happens throughout their 6 hour school day…wouldn’t you crash at night after a day like that? And then after school, there’s homework, sports, and other extracurricular activities that are equally as important and exhausting.
When we sleep we embed memories which are all those shapes, colors, math facts, reading comprehension skills, and phonics that your child learned that day. Sleep is critical for the brain to store these memories away and be able to recall them later…the result is academic success!
Give your child the advantage they need and get them to bed at night. They need this sleep! At this age, you control their bedtime just like you control what they eat. Soon enough this won’t be the case….teenagers, need I say more? You know what’s best for your child. For now they need you to set a firm bedtime to ensure they get the necessary hours to process everything that happened during the day and be ready for another big day.
Do I get pushback at bedtime? Of course…
Mostly in our house it’s a lot of “oh I need to do this RIGHT NOW” or the slowest shower known to mankind. It’s not fun to be the taskmaster at this time, but we stick to the routine and snuggle for stories which ends each night peacefully.
"So here’s the Blueprint – Kindergarten through 5th grade, aim for at least 11+ hours of sleep every night."
Avoiding late evening activities and making sure we get to bed is always worth it when I see my kids happy, coping with challenges without a meltdown, and able to fully focus at school with energy left to burn afterward. The most tell-tale sign of not getting enough sleep is always their behavior…whining and crying is the sign of a tired child. They are simply exhausted and don’t have the bandwidth to navigate something that isn’t to their liking. You are their safe space, so crying and whining and all the bad behaviors will come out.
The second most telling sign is getting sick. Schools are germ breeding grounds and when a child is tired their immune systems are weakened. Sleep strengthens those infection fighting cells. They are more likely to catch that stomach bug, strep throat, or random 24 hour fever that has now kept them home and detoured your family’s entire schedule.
You can’t prevent all the sicknesses, but you can greatly reduce the number of sick days with enough sleep.
The Blueprint: Kindergarten through 5th grade, aim for at least 11+ hours of sleep every night. Include a consistent bedtime and morning routine so they will be ready for sleep and ready for school.
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