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Juniors

20th Jul 2020

Inconsistent bedtimes can have negative effects on your child’s development

Melissa Carton

child sleeping with mouth open

This is very interesting.

The phrase let sleeping dogs lie comes to mind when I think of dealing with my toddler.

It’s rare that she ever takes a nap but when she does I leave her be on the off chance that I get to finish a cup of tea.

Unfortunately, this means of course that you won’t go to sleep at her normal bedtime but that’s fine, right?

While my daughter goes to bed at the wrong time only once in a while, research shows that a prolonged inconsistent bedtime can be damaging for a child.

A UK study looked at the bedtime habits of 10,000 kids between the ages of three and seven years old.

The study found that kids with non-regular bedtimes had more behavioural difficulties than those with a predictable bedtime routine.

Research collected during the study also indicated that irregular bedtime can also lead to researchers found that irregular bedtimes can also put kids at risk for obesity and low-self esteem.

Regular bedtimes, on the other hand, were found to have a positive impact on a kid’s development, health and behaviour.

I never would have thought that letting my kid miss their regular bedtime would have such a big impact on their health. It will definitely make me think twice in future.

Topics:

health,sleep,study