Okay, I am trying to sort things out here ... my daughter has suddenly changed her behavior (oh like that does not happen) and I am trying to figure out WHY.
Monday morning, she lashed out at me when I tried to wash her hair. The rest of the week she has been TERRIFIC about it, and almost everything else.
So what else changed? Well, we kept the kids up LATER ... oddly enough. Their usual bed time is 8, we get them up at 5:45. Still under the Pediatrician-recommended 10 OR MORE hrs. (guilt ... guilt ... guilt ... ). Our kids are 6, 4, and 3! And the younger two do a 1.5 - 2 hr nap each day ...
The first night, it was unintentional -- finishing a movie, and they were up till 9:30! The next night we decided to see what happen ... and the next ...
And, we discovered that by keeping them all up LATER, they stay in their own beds all night. So ... is it less sleep, or higher-quality, more-complete sleep cycles? But, wow, it's like her SID issues are GONE. She is (VERBALLY) expressive, moreobservant, logical, happier ...
Anyone else experimented or experienced with sleep-schedule changes? If only MOM can keep staying up, so late!!!
but
Both my kids are night owls and I have never been able to get either one in bed by 10:00 their whole lives...this summer it is even worse~they come alive at night like vampires or something and Sarah is so talkative and expressive and lively~almost hyper which normally she is really sedate.. ..but they sleep through the night:)
I dont thing ALL kids require the same amount of sleep as others...quality is far better than quanity :) IMHO ;~P
I agree w/ Shelley, I think it varies from kid to kid. My friend keeps their 2Thanks guys! I am just thrown by her reaction.
I do think once the school year begins again she will be crashing early! Last fall some nights she would be asleep by 6 pm, without dinner. One more reason I felt so awful for throwing her into Kg -- it just felt like she was not ready, after I did it.
We usuallly all go to bed between 9-9:30 (parents & 7year old & 4 yearSleep is a huge factor for my son. He needs 10 consecutive hours of sleep or else he is a maniac the next day. His twin is the exact opposite. I'm thinking she may actually be an insomniac. She never naps, stays up late and gets up early with NO problems.
I definitely believe sleep is a major factor in our kids' behaviors. Too much can be just as bad as too little. I just wish my daughter needed a little more sleep!
They get it from their dad who seems to need an enormous amout of sleep. If I get at least 5 hours I'm good.
8pm to 9:30pm isn't a whole lot different. But maybe they are sleeping harder being more tired. Deeper sleep. More rested.
I know sleep is so very important for ALL kids. And adults!
My son had huge sleep issues. Now---he is OK. It doesn't matter what time he goes to bed--he still gets up at the exact same time---to the minute--every morning! 6:41am. Weird! I know though that the more sleep a child gets--the more they grow. (they only grow at night when sleeping) Well I just updated this on another thread ... but. I think we just proved the sleep connection, today! She had a rotten day, threw toys this morning, then went through an episode of HITTING HERSELF IN THE HEAD out of frustration, then throwing toys at the Y pool, then melting down b/c her 3 y/o baby sister was "being mean to her!" Oy. So ... where did she sleep last night? With US, of course. Not sure what time she came in (despite our being out late in an effort to prolong the winning streak). It may not be that the poor sleep causes the bad symptoms the next day, but something sure was different ... and the poor sleep went with it.
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