If you have not already done so, please read Blog Posts 1 through 5 that describe how sleep is important and beneficial. I will post specific information for parents and children based on my book, “Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child.” Please do not be put off by my book’s length. This is a reference book. Read only the topic of interest to you.
The saving grace for both our children was that we strictly adhered to a one-day-per-week, non-negotiable, no exceptions, sleep-in day. Usually Sunday there were no scheduled events until possibly dinner. We found that the children were able to make up for and compensate for their inadequate sleep during the week. It would not be uncommon for Elizabeth to sleep until noon or 1:00 p.m. Once high school began, in addition to exponentially more homework, sports occurred both before and after school. The sleep-in day became a lifeline.
We declare a sleep-in “holiday” on the mornings following a late night.
Sometimes, though, with challenging classes, they had too much homework and they stayed up later. We tried to compromise; we allowed our children to miss practice or go to school late or miss a day of school rather than stay up past midnight. We called it a “mental health day,” because it was just too much. If they would have stayed up really late, they would have ended up not feeling well all the next day anyway.
