Single Dads Diary

I wrote the title for this blog very specifically, it would be easy to have written “Is your child getting enough sleep?” but that lets us off the blame. The fact of the matter is we control how much sleep we allow our children to get, if we allow our children to stay up all hours, watching TV, playing computer games, talking and texting on mobile phones, then we are not allowing them to get enough sleep. It is as simple as that.

It is very easy for us Single Dads, who feel that we must fill up every second of time we in contact with our children, even if that does affect their sleep patterns, to think well it is just one night. First and foremost however, we are Dads and we must put the best interests of our children at the heart of our care for them, even if it shortens the time you get to spend with them.

The first discussion in the whole debate is TV. I have to say even though I am a huge tele addict I am dead set against TVs in the bedrooms. Part of the process of sleeping is that it requires a child to close their eyes, in order for a child to watch TV they have to have their eyes open, there is a direct contradiction. TV is stimulating; sleep requires calm, another direct contradiction.  TAKE THE TVs OUT OF THE ROOMS, I URGE YOU.

Another impact due to lack of sleep is also school performance, if you don’t allow yourchildren to have enough sleep, then it is a little like putting half the amount of petrol you would normally but in your car but expecting it to go the same distance. Lack of sleep has a direct impact on your child’s cognitive abilities; it has a negative impact on learning, concentration and behaviour, there is no benefit to lack of sleep, whether you are a child or an adult.

The other research that is also coming to light is also how it impacts childhood obesity. Research finds that those young children not getting enough sleep are more likely to be overweight as they get older.  The reason being that a lack of sleep causes an imbalance in the hormone that controls appetite. However, this also comes down to whether you are a parent who can’t say no to a request to stay up late, does that also make you a parent who can’t say no to all the junk food your child wants to eat?

There are always going to be exception to the rules, there will be those children who just don’t need as much sleep but it has to be for the right reasons and we as parents need to genuinely be able to decipher are they just saying it. We all have the capacity to push ourselves through when we are tired, but the fact is a child should not have to, or are they just a child who does not need as much sleep as everyone else.

Even if your child does not sleep there should be quiet time, peace and not complete over stimulation from all the technological distractions that the world has to offer, or from stressing about what is going on in their world.

This is one of those scenarios where we just have to do right by our children and you don’t have to look far to know whether you are or not, if your child looks tired and acts tired, then they are probably tired.

If you are not sure how much sleep your children should have then click here and log onto the NHS website as a recommendation of the amount of sleep.

Below are just a few articles, amongst the thousands that show the results from lack of sleep.

NYMAG.com

BBC

Daily Mail

Tuesday, September 7th, 2010, 7:35 pm   |   Uncategorized  |  RSS feed |  Respond  |  Trackback