Rock-A-Bye-Baby – The Ideal Sleep For Kids

A good night’s sleep is essential to the growth and development of young children. Establishing good sleep patterns early on plays a major role in a child’s learning and their emotional and psychical development.

Research into children’s sleep patterns has shown how a lack of sleep, or a sleep in poor quality beds can affect a child’s development for the worse. It can lead to deterioration in their concentration, poor performance in their learning, a lower immunity to diseases and fluctuating weight problems. So you see how having the right bed in the right environment can be of vital importance.

The sleeping hours vary between different age groups:

Children aged 4-6 sleep between 10½ to 11½ hours at night. As most parents will already know it can be hard getting children of this age to go to bed. Either they want to stay up later, or they wake up during the night. A routine of structured bedtime hours helps to avoid this in children. Set a bedtime for a specific time every night and never deviate from it.

Children aged 6-12 tend to sleep for almost 10 hours a night. They begin to experience sleeping problems similar to adults with anxieties and worries about school, friends or even their home life. Bedtime routine and structure is still a reassuring factor for them.

Once the children become teenagers, besides the obvious trouble that comes with the raging hormones, they will probably want to stay up later. Statistically speaking, teenagers should get 8-9 hours of sleep a night. If they don’t, the disruption in their sleep patterns can lead to damaging their successes academically and affect the state of their health. Remember, teenagers are in the process of experiencing major growth spurts which lead to a greater need for rest and sleep.

The environment a child or teenager sleeps in needs to be designed for sleep. Distractions in the bedroom such as toys, games or television sets can make the bedroom seem a place for play rather than rest. Make sure to air the rooms well before the kids go to sleep as to make the room a cooler environment. Fresh bedding is extremely important, wash the sheets regularly. Ensure that the beds are assembled correctly including the headboards and drawers. Don’t allow children to eat in the bed, crumbs and food debris can cause them to stir during the night and irritate their skin.

If children share a room the obvious bed choice is to get a bunk bed, which conserves on space and is suitable for two children to split between them. Beds that have plenty of storage space or activity area beneath the sleeping surface can offer great benefit to kids of the right age. Themed beds or even cabin beds are often popular choices where headboards can be adjusted or detached.

Whatever the bed choice, be sure to flip that mattress regularly, once a week if possible. Never use hand-me-down mattresses for children. They are often the cause of the very problems you are trying to prevent. Treat a child’s bed with care, attention and consideration as this is the most important time for a child’s development and growth.