Healthy Habits
In this month’s newsletter, we continue to share tips on how you can help your child form healthy habits. This month’s topic is about sleep.
Make sure your child gets enough sleep. Getting enough sleep can improve your child’s mental, emotional and physical health. Not getting enough sleep may lead to many health issues, including obesity. Children ages 6-12 need between 9-12 hours of sleep during a 24 hour period according to the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP).
The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) supports the AASM guidelines and encourages parents to make sure their children develop good sleep habits right from the start.
Make sufficient sleep a family priority. Understand the importance of getting enough sleep and how sleep affects the overall health of you and your children. Remember that you are a role model to your child; set a good example. Staying up all night with your teen to edit his or her paper or pulling an all-nighter for work yourself isn't really sending the right message. Making sleep a priority for yourself shows your children that it's part of living a healthy lifestyle—like eating right and exercising regularly.
Keep to a regular daily routine. The same waking time, meal times, nap time, and play times will help your child feel secure and comfortable, and help with a smooth bedtime. For young children, it helps to start early with a bedtime routine such as brush, book, bed. Make sure the sleep routines you use can be used anywhere, so you can help your child get to sleep wherever you may be.
Be active during the day. Make sure your kids have interesting and varied activities during the day, including physical activity and fresh air.
*Content provided by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Disease and the American Academy of Pediatrics (Copyright © 2016) Last Updated 11/16/2020