It is not only adults who are suffering from too little good-quality sleep; many children are as well. Children are not managing to get themselves off to sleep at night and, when they do, the quality of their sleep is not good enough to satisfy the needs of their minds and bodies. Many children do not even manage to sleep through the night and, when they wake up, wander into their parents' bed. The result is that both parents and child suffer from some degree of sleep deprivation.
Parents who are tired often find it difficult to be patient and give their child the time they need to complete routine tasks at their own speed.
Children who are sleep-deprived often become irritable and unwilling to co-operate and play with others amicably. They also find concentration more difficult, and this impacts on their daily ability to learn by participating fully in activities. If sleep deprivation persists, young children gradually slip behind in their developmental potential, which in turn causes other problems for the child and their interaction within a group.
DISTURBED NIGHTS
If a child is 'not quite himself today' and shows no signs of being ill, this change in mood may be the result of sleep deprivation. It is always worth checking with a parent to see if the child is getting to sleep early enough or is having disturbed nights. If this is the case, the parent may welcome some advice. Some parents openly confess to having difficulty in controlling their children's sleep time.
Children have to learn to put themselves to sleep. To do this they have to learn to unwind, ready to switch off their brain and relax their body. As parents are around them at bedtime, they are the ones who can help children learn how to do this. Often parents want some advice. Routine physical activities and surrounding environments play an important part in helping children relax and prepare for sleep, but these activities need to be accompanied by the right type and tone of language. A single phrase like 'now it's time to go to bed' is usually not enough for a child to be able to get to sleep.
Night-time sleep is different from the daytime naps which children gradually cut out themselves when they feel they no longer need them. Often at nap time children are tired and ready to go to sleep. At night this may not be the case, especially if they are feeling anxious about separation.
For this reason, children need to learn how to put themselves to sleep and at the same time understand and feel confident about the separation that goes with night-time sleep.
Too often, parents do not realise that children are worried about being by themselves, especially when they sleep alone in their own bedroom, which may be upstairs and seem far away from the rest of the family. Children need continual reassurance that when they wake up in the morning they will still be loved by the same people and their world will be little changed.
SETTLED ROUTINES
Children thrive on routine. Daily routines give shape to the day and provide children with signals of what to anticipate. Routines create the structures that help children make sense of their lives.
Routines need to be accompanied with the same basic language which can be expanded to match situations and moods. The same 'goodnight' routine at home or on holiday gives signals to a child that it is time to prepare themselves for night-time sleep. Without a fixed routine, children have more difficulty in nodding off and as a result they may suffer from sleep deprivation.
Routine language
Language is an important tool in helping children to wind down. Goodnight language differs from the language that accompanies daily activities in that it aims to:
- Reassure by using a softer, higher- pitched, caring tone
- Calm and not stimulate a child by using a slower diction
- Give self-confidence and praise in reviewing the day's activities
- Give verbal signals predicting night-time separation.
- Goodnight body language is less vigorous,with more touch conveying love.
Role play
Although goodnight routines take place in the home, practitioners can contribute by helping parents develop their own personal winding-down routine through discussion and role-play at nursery. Practitioners can introduce an older baby or toddler doll and a bed, so setting the scene for goodnight role-play, perhaps weaving a story around the doll that won't go to sleep at night. Discussion about the doll's behaviour will lead naturally to children talking about what they do at bedtime and their own fears and worries. The doll's goodnight routine can be expanded gradually. Children need space and time to act out the roles of parents putting the lively doll to bed.
Acting out goodnight routines for the doll at nursery and talking about them can contribute to helping children work out their own ways of winding down. It may also help them come to terms with their own worries and fears of night-time.
As the doll's goodnight routines become established, practitioners can inform parents about the activities, rhymes and songs, suggesting that they might like to include some as part of their home goodnight routines. Many busy parents with little time to research may welcome new ideas that have already been learned at nursery. It provides them with quick and workable solutions that can be adapted to fit into their own routine.
Winding down
Each child takes their own time to wind down. The length of time can vary depending on the day's experiences and the child's own physical and emotional needs. Very simple personalised rhymes and songs can be sufficient to prompt winding down.
Tidying up should be part of a winding-down routine. Bedrooms often double as playrooms, and to help children feel that it is the end of their day, toys need to be tidied away, leaving constructions and ongoing activities to be continued the following day.
Many parents find tidying up a difficult chore, especially when they themselves have just returned from a day's work. A tidy-up rhyme or song used at nursery can be successfully transferred to home, making the chore go more smoothly as children are already familiar with the song and the accompanying tasks. For example: Time to tidy and put things away, Put things away, put things away. Time to tidy and put things away All ready for another day.
Story books
Introduce some goodnight story books in nursery and make sure you read them together with the role-play doll. Reading stories will add to the bedtime language and winding-down experiences. Recommend to parents the titles of books that children have enjoyed. Children will be proud to share familiar books with their family.
Praise
Children look for praise and it is important that they know what they have done well during the day. This simple rhyme can be used at nuirsery and later transferred to home:
Michael's been a good boy today, A good boy today, A good boy today.
Michael's shared his toys today.
(Change to any well-done task.) Well done, Michael!
(from Hippety Hop, p43)
If there is some disruption during the final winding-down rhyme or song, like dad returning from work excited to see his child, the final winding-down rhyme needs to be repeated if it is to be successful.
Final song
Sing this final song while rocking the child in the arms or on the lap, sung to an adaptation of the tune 'Goodnight Ladies'.
Good night, Mummy, Good night, Daddy, Good night Michael, It's time to say, 'Good night'
Good night, Grandma, (alter to family names ) Good night, Grandpa, Good night, Baby, (personalise the child's name) It's time to say, 'Good night!'
(from Hippety Hop, p11)
SUMMARY
Creating opportunities for children to hear and become familiar with goodnight routines and language at school can help them in many different ways. If some of these activities can be transferred to the home and personalised, they may make a valuable contribution in helping children and parents get a better quality night's sleep and overcome sleep deprivation.
FURTHER READING
- 'The Inside Story - Sleep, The Teacher', Times Educational Supplement, 2 July 2004
- Sleep, Practical Parenting series by Siobhan Stirling, Hamlyn
- Hippety-hop, Hippety-Hay: Growing with rhymes from birth to age three by O Dunn and S Lambert, Frances Lincoln