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Sleep and Children:

Young children need quite a bit of sleep to stay healthy and happy. In fact, they need about 10-11 hours of sleep every night to stay at their best. Getting enough sleep is very important for children. It helps their brain function properly, it helps their body grow and fight sicknesses, it keeps them happy and much more.
Since you know that sleep is very important, and you know that they need plenty of it, now all you need to know are the best ways to help your child get enough sleep every night.

• Exercise—having your child exercise during the day, at least 3 hours (preferably in the evening) can help your child rest better at night. Their body is tired, so they sleep more deeply, and the more deeply they sleep, the more the sleep will help the body.

• Avoid big meals—if you allow your child to eat a large meal just before bedtime, they will not be able to sleep as well. Instead, it is best to have an early dinner and allow your child to have a light healthy snack before bedtime, such as fruit (you will not want to skip the snack, though, because hunger can hinder sleep, as well).

• Have a routine—it is easier for small children to sleep well at night when they have a routine. If everything changes from night to night, they will have a hard time relaxing enough to go to sleep. With children of this age, they are creatures of habit, and if you do the same thing with your child every single night before bed, it makes them sleepy as soon as you do the routine.

• Avoid caffeine and sugar—it is best not to allow your child any caffeine, but if you do allow some, you should at least limit it to early in the day and in small amounts. You shouldn't let your child have any sugar in the evening hours, either.

• Keep a bedtime—you should be consistent with your child's bedtime every night. Bodies get used to a schedule, and if you change that up, it can throw everything off.

• Sleepy environment—you will want to make the bedroom as sleepy a place as possible at night time. Keep the room cool and dark, and leave off all noise. No televisions or computers should be on. If your child likes some sort of noise, you should turn a radio on low on classical music. This can actually help your child sleep better if it's turned down low enough.

• Stop drinking—you should have your child take their last drink an hour before bedtime. This way, they can use the bathroom before bedtime, and this is good because it is hard for your child to sleep if they are waking up often to use the restroom.

If you do all of these things on a regular basis, your child will almost always get the amount and quality of sleep that they need to be healthy happy children.

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