Another Example From The School Of The Bleeding Obvious ?

[mikey4444]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-23223751

Not putting your kids to bed at the proper time isn't good for them apparently...well, well, well ...who would have thought of it !

[LoftyLottie]

And by the way, I was told by a paediatrician that children that don't need much sleep are often highly intelligent. Which makes me very thick because I need loads - always have done.

It's a sweeping statement and parents should do what is right for the individual child.

[AB Editor]

I think that is half the problem Lottie. Some parents with children at the extreme ends of the scale will feel the need to conform but in fact should listen to their children too.

And it is the two way communication that could be lacking in these families highlighted in the study. Which leads to all sorts of other issues.

The vast majority of kids in the middle of the bell curve will get enough sleep and perform averagely.

You can make stats work for anything :-)

[society]

I know this is about kids, but, I become very forgetful if I don't get at least four hours of sleep.

[sp1814]

Serious question (directed to those with kids, or those who look after young kids) - how do you manage to get them to sleep during the summer, when it's still light outside at their bedtimes?

[EdmundD]

I remember when I was a kid in the 1950's my Mum used to let me stay up late to watch a programme called Cool for Cats presented by Kent Walton. I looked it up recently and found that it was broadcast at 7:15 p.m.

[naomi24]

sp, very effective window blinds.

[LoftyLottie]

I think there is nothing worse than putting children to bed whilst it is broad daylight, unless of course they are tired out and ready for sleep. I have never understood about rigid bedtimes. Perhaps it works for some families though.

And yes Ed. I agree with you.

[ummmm]

sp - mine were just ready for sleep. It might be the fact that they had a routine and they started getting sleepy and also the fact that they were very active.

[Octavius]

Same here really, they are at school all day and then in the garden for 4 hours on the trampoline, slide and swing, running around with the cat and the dog and playing at various bits and bobs, then they are knackered and ready for bed.

They might turn out thick, but at least they had fun getting there!

[LazyGun]

The researchers themselves are aware of the possible confounding factors. The lead researcher actually mentions this in the article, going to explain that they have controlled for confounding factors as best they can.

So - an element of uncertainty to the result, not least because they will have been reliant on imperfect or biased recall from parents, but certainly indicative. And plausible too. Sleep is important, especially when you are growing.

[Sqad]

In the simplest of terms:

Early to bed
Early to rise
Makes a child.
Healthy, wealthy
and Wise

Purely anecdotal......and links or studies available.

[emmie]

i also think it's the routine they get into, yes some children will sleep less, but having a fixed routine helps them as well as you. Less Frazzle, more dazzle.

[viv38]

When me and my brother were kids, we always had a set bad time (can't remember the time now, but it was about 7.30). Not so bad in the winter when it was dark, but hell in the summer when all the other kids were still playing out ! I think kids today stay up way too late, but I also think 7.30 was a bit early.

[emmie]

when we were little it was probably the same around 7-7.30 time,
i used to grouch like mad when woken at whatever time in the evening if there was a party, as we were whisked off to the neighbours, or relative, great for the adults having their knees up, not so much fun for us. loaded down with coats in someone else's bed, yuck.

[mikey4444]

Edmund...I remember that as well !

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cool_For_Cats_(TV_series)

[mikey4444]

SP1814...my mother always swore by a teaspoonful of Irish Wiskey in our cocoa...worked every time !

[LoftyLottie]

Good fun though when there were other children also staying and we were all the the same bedroom in the beds loaded down with coats! I don't think visitors are invited to put coats on beds any more and shown to the bathroom. I suppose most coats are left in cars Em and in our days there were few of them about. Some of those heaps of coats were ginormous!

Anyway, I don't think any of us kids actually slept very much.