<strong>Does your school goer find it difficult to wake up on time during school days? Here’s how to help </strong>
Research shows that children’s inability to wake up early may be based in biology. Youngsters need anywhere between 8-9 hours of deep sleep for the optimal functioning of their body and mind. However, their sleeping cycles might be getting disturbed due to a number of reasons including excessive use of phones, lack of proper time management, procrastination, etc. A sleep cycle gone haywire is the reason behind being delayed for school too. This, in turn, leads to a lot of stress. Here are a few tips to help your teen become an early riser which will last for a lifetime.
The “no electronics in the bedroom” rule
Almost all of us, including students, find it hard to resist indulging in a social media scroll right before bed. A simple way to evade this urge is to set a “no electronics in the bedroom” for your teen. The logic is pretty straightforward: If there is no access to technology, then there will also be no usage of it. As against this, even if your teen decides to keep the phone/ laptop in her room at night and not use it, a text message alert or a social media notification at 2 am at night is enough to disturb her sleep schedule. In case of alarms, it might be a good idea to invest in an old-school alarm clock for your teen instead of relying on the mobile phone one.
Fix an appropriate bedtime
School goers want to stay up later than usual during this age. Parents cannot expect them to be fast asleep by 9 pm every night. Well, it is important to provide that freedom to them, but at the same time, it essential to be aware of the fact that a lack of bedtime rules can be misused by your school goer. Discuss an appropriate bedtime with him and encourage him to stick to that, at least on school nights.
Discourage napping throughout the day
A tiring day at school can result in your child indulging in a much-need afternoon rest. However, such type of resting, more often than not, turns into a long, deep afternoon nap. As tempting as it may be, a nap during the day can interfere with her sleep schedule, resulting in her staying up till the wee hours of the night. Encourage her to rejuvenate after school using other alternatives like going out on a walk, exercising, spending time doing a hobby, etc.
If nothing works, provide consequences
Providing consequences that encourage your teen to become more responsible is a healthy way to teach him accountability. If your child refuses to wake up on time, or constantly creates excuses, it might be a good idea to plan some consequences. For example, if he fails to wake up on time, avoid trying to wake him up yourself. He will positively learn the consequence of the pile up of work from a missed day at school.