Ahhhhh Sleep

Well, it is day four of the blogging challenge and as I promised myself and a few other people, I am here fulfilling that promise - so far so good! The problem with writing a daily blog is coming up with a topic that is relevant to kidsgoals and interesting enough to anyone else who may stumble upon my blog whilst surfing the web. That is kind of what I am struggling with now as I write this. I will usually hear something on the telly that gives me a bit of food for thought or discuss an article I had recently read, but alas, nothing comes to mind. I guess I could talk about how happy I am to get the newsletter out on time. I was struggling with it a bit as my energy was quite low due to a bout of insomnia that has been plaguing me for about two weeks now. I was still bound and determined to get it out on time but as I go over it this morning I realize I missed a few blatant typos! Oh well, I can blame it on my sleep deficit and try to do better next time.

Fortunately, I had a much better sleep last night and can feel a big difference today in my clarity of thought, my mental outlook and even feel like I might have enough energy for a workout - another area in my life that has been sorely lacking lately. What a change from the last few days, where I was starting to feel like there was this big, black cloud hanging over me. How can a few more hours of zzzzz's make such a difference? This makes me think about the importance of sleep for our children and if they getting enough to be able to function properly in school.

According to a recent article I read on Web MD children age 3-6 need 10-12 hours a day, age 7-12 need 10-11 hours a day and 12-18 need 9 hours a day. I don't know about you, but I can pretty much guarantee that my fourteen-year-old son (even with my persistent nagging) is lucky to get 7 hours!! How can we expect our children to thrive when they don't get the optimal amount? I know full well how horrible I felt and how day to day activities became really difficult. For instance it took me five tries to put my cheque in the instant teller and because I was in such a brain fog, I filled my tank up and left the station with my gas cap off, wide open and drove away. Makes me wonder if I should have even been driving in the first place!

Have a look at how many hours of sleep your kids are getting and you may find they need a bit more in order to feel and be at their best. I know some kids can function perfectly well with a little less sleep but this will give you a general guideline if you are concerned your child may not be getting enough restorative sleep.

Happy Parenting,

Monicka