If you have a child starting kindergarten this fall, you’re probably wondering if they’re ready, and how to better prepare them for this new chapter in their lives. We’re here to help with that and tell you that sleep is a huge factor in successfully adapting and performing in kindergarten. Keep on reading to find out what researchers have found out.

Why Is Sleep So Important?

Sleep is of crucial importance for any human being, but especially for small children. If your kid is well rested, they will be more cooperative and ready to learn. In fact, a study called “Sleep Duration and Kindergarten Adjustment,” which ran over a year with 221 families with kids of the kindergarten age range, found out the big difference sleep can make. They compared the academic results and overall behaviors of the children who had a consistent bedtime routine and bedtime and who had 10+ hours of sleep per night with kids who didn’t. The results have shown that the kids who had better and longer nights of sleep were noticeably more engaged and performed better academically. However, they were also getting a good amount of sleep for months prior to starting kindergarten.

How to Improve a Child’s Sleep

If your child is getting less than ten hours of sleep per night and you would like to change that to help them better adapt to kindergarten and perform well, you can do some small adjustments. One of the things you can do is cap their afternoon nap. If the nap is longer than two hours, try to shorten it by waking up the kid every other day ten minutes early until you make the nap two hours long. If this doesn’t help make them go to bed earlier and easier at night, you can shorten it a bit more. Also, make sure you limit screen time before bed. Come up with a nice and relaxing bedtime routine that you can emulate every single day so it’s easier for your child to unwind and go down for their night’s sleep.

Most modern-day parents share a similar goal — teaching their children not to be dependent on electronic devices. Most parents want their kids to engage in creative crafts, play outdoors, and practice useful skills like reading books rather than spending their days inside in front of screens.

Limiting Screen Time With Electronic Devices Important

A study published in JAMA Pediatrics in 2019 claims that excessive screen use can change the way children’s brains develop. According to the study, kids with more screen time exhibited lower white matter tract structural integrity in parts of the brain that are responsible for language and literacy skills. Author of Cyber-Smarts: Raising Children in a Digital Age, postulated that electronic devices stole attention and time from growth-promoting activities.

Start as Early as Possible

If kids start using screens in infancy, it’s more likely that they’ll continue to use them more often as they grow. Interventions to limit screen time are more likely to work the earlier they’re introduced. Experts say there should be no screen time until the age of 18 months, one hour per day of quality programming for ages between two to five, and consistent time limits for screen use for ages six and older.

Create a Screen-Time Policy

When kids get older, they will start asking parents for their own devices and claiming that all their friends have phones, tablets, and computers. The internet can be extremely useful for acquiring information for kids’ studies and most parents want their children to have a phone on them so that they’re always reachable. Banning electronics isn’t a good option but having an open conversation about the dangers of screen addiction and putting rules and limitations in place is the best solution.

Lead by Example

Parents can undermine their efforts by enforcing screen time rules on children but continuing to scroll through their phones and tablets at the same time. Set your devices aside and do your best to follow the same rules you want your kids to adjust to. When you do check your phone, let them know why so that they understand the more practical and useful aspects electronics offer.