Bedtime Routine

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You may want to sleep on it - but scientists have finally come up with the answer to what constitutes a good bedtime routine for children between the ages of 2 and 8.

A study by University of Manchester psychologist, Dr George Kitsaras, defines 6 key measures that should be implemented to optimize your child’s bedtime routine:

• Brushing teeth before bed.
• Time consistency for going to bed.
• Book reading before bed.
• Avoiding food/drinks before bed.
• Avoiding use of electronic devices before bed.
• Calming activities with the child before bed, including bath, shower, and talking.

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“Bedtime routines are important family activities and have important implications on children’s wellbeing, development and health,” says Dr Kitsaras. “All activities around bedtime matter for children’s development and wellbeing.”

For those of you wondering… the study declared toothbrushing to be the most important to remember each night.

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“There are strong links between inadequate oral hygiene practices and dental decay in children and adults. For children, early childhood caries can lead to higher occurrence of dental disease in later life and, in some cases, untreated childhood caries can lead to extractions under general anaesthetic causing additional problems for children and parents,” continues Dr Kitsaras.

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“Washing or having a shower each night before bed, on the other hand might be a common practice for families but our experts considered it to be part of a wider umbrella of child-parent interactions rather than a standalone practice we need to specifically target.”

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“I have no doubt the debate will continue and our definition might even be refined as more people engage with it,” Dr Kitsaras concludes.

We want to know what you think! What bedtime routines do you swear by?

Source: University of Manchester via NeuroscienceNews.com
Photos by Andrea Piacquadio from Pexels