Kids need sleep. A lot of it. Toddlers and preschoolers need 12-14 hours of total sleep (nighttime sleep plus naps) and 5-12 year olds need 10-11.
Adequate sleep keeps kids healthy, improves social/emotional well-being, and is essential for brain development. You know that feeling you get when you’re running on empty and you just can’t seem to remember anything? Kids lacking adequate sleep experience that same feeling, and then some.
Some recent studies on children and sleep shed some light on both the necessity of adequate sleep and the importance of consistent bedtimes. More on that over at Everyday Family – check it out.
On that note, I’m off to bed!
