Getting a good night’s sleep is essential to a child’s growth and development. Many parents might be surprised to learn that children most school-aged children need about 10-12 hours of sleep a night, according to The Sleep Council.
One school caused a stir online when they posted what was supposed to be a helpful “sleep schedule” for parents, only to create a heated debate.
When it comes to kids’ bedtimes, every parent has their own rules.
The debate about how you should get your kids into bed starts when they’re infants with some parents choosing to sleep-train their kids. As they get older the debate shifts into how late kids should go to bed.
One school went viral when they shared a sleep schedule on Facebook.
Wilson Elementary school in Wisconson shared this sleep chart on Facebook with the hopes of helping parents plan their evening routine. Instead, they accidentally created a ton of controversy.
The chart raised a lot of questions since some of the recommended bedtimes were as early as 6:45 in the evening.
As a parent, I know we’re having a good day if we’ve eaten dinner by that time, let alone had a bath and everything else we need to do before bed.
Online, many parents agreed that this schedule simply wasn’t realistic.
Since a lot of parents these days do shift work outside of a “9 to 5” schedule, sending kids to bed this early would mean barely seeing your kids all week.
Commutes and extra-curricular activities also wouldn’t work with this schedule, parents said.
Those parents who work until 5 o’clock still have to commute home, not to mention sports and activities that run well into the evening.
Other parents said the amount of homework their children do on a daily basis contributes to their bedtime.
Homework is another area of debate between teachers and parents, with many parents feeling that their kids have to do too much work after school.
However, not every parent felt that this chart was a bad thing.
A number of people chimed in and said that an early bedtime is the way to go.
At the end of the day, parents know what’s best for their children.
Some kids require an early bedtime, and for some families going to bed at 7 simply isn’t possible. What matters is that your child is getting enough sleep to support their growth and development.
