Here’s why parents should enforce bedtime rules for children!

Image for representational purpose only

New Delhi: Parents, take note! A new study has found that they should enforce bedtime rules for children as it may help them get adequate sleep which is an important determinant of health.

It is said that lack of sleep in children causes poor attention, worse grades, school absences, poor social interaction, irritability and crankiness, depression and increased risk-taking behaviour.

Heather Manson, chief (health promotion, chronic disease and injury prevention) at Public Health Ontario in Canada said,“Sleep is increasingly being recognised as an important determinant of health, and an integral component of healthy living for children, integrated with other behaviours such as physical activity and sedentary time.”

Researchers said the number of children meeting the guidelines increased between ages 5 and 9 years, but declined between 10 and 17 years.

According to the study, children aged 15, showed the greatest difference between weekday and weekend sleep, with 38.3% fewer children meeting guidelines on the weekends compared to the weekdays.

Manson said,“Parents enforcing a bedtime on the weekday could help support their child to achieve sufficient sleep.”

In the study, the team used self-reported data from over 1,600 parents with at least one child under the age of 18 years.

Researchers said around 94% of parents reported encouraging their child to go to bed at a specific time, and just over 84% reported enforcing bedtime rules. Parents who reported enforcing bedtime rules were 59% more likely to have their child meeting sleep guidelines on a weekday.

The fnding was published in the journal BMC Public Health.

(With IANS inputs)