Curriculum

Digital Technology and a good night's sleep

Recently our Grade 3 parents & families had the opportunity to attend the BYOD information night. We are lucky enough in our classrooms to utilise a range of devices and platforms to ensure our students have the best opportunity to succeed in their learning. It is important that we work with families at school and at home to ensure a positive digital learning experience. We also know that the interaction with such devices can raise challenges, such as sleep and interruptions to sleeping patterns.  How can we help establish digital boundaries for a good night's sleep? Here are a few helpful strategies to limit a negative impact on your children's sleeping patterns:

Establish a digital bedtime:

Kids should switch off digital devices 60 minutes prior to falling asleep. Reinforce this habit by establishing a ‘landing zone’ such as a kitchen bench, or desk in a study or sideboard where digital devices go for charging and storage. Many students report that they ‘need’ to complete homework or submit assignments late at night. Home learning is clearly communicated via classroom teachers, and if a digital platform is required, then a sufficient amount of time is always provided to all students. Planning, organisation and identifying priorities for students is key in this process. We can try and take this as an opportunity to empower our students ability to self manage in preparation for secondary school.

Tech-free zones:

Bedrooms should be tech-free zones, so consider buying an alarm clock if your child uses a mobile phone to wake themselves up. Keeping devices out of bedrooms removes the tech-temptation to use them throughout the night, reduces the likelihood that they’ll reach for them upon waking and lessens the chance of cyberbullying incidents. Ensure any devices left in bedrooms are on airplane mode and that the device is away from their line of sight.

Use blue light filters:

Most devices include options for ‘night mode’ or ‘dark mode’ that reduce blue light exposure. Dimming the brightness of the screen in the settings or applying a filter on a desktop or laptop also assists.

Do a screen swap before bed

Encourage passive tech activities before bed such as watching TV, listening to an audiobook, listening to music or a podcast, or reading on an e-reader.

It can be a challenge navigating digital boundaries with your child, particularly when it involves sleep, which is vital for health, wellbeing and learning. Talk to them regularly about the importance of sleep using science and facts to substantiate your claims.

We are always here to support families and students in navigating this fascinating digital world we live in today. If you are to ever have any concerns or questions, please do not hesitate to reach out to the school.