From Our Sick Bay 

The importance of sleep.

Lately I am seeing more and more students in sick bay who are extremely tired as they have not slept well the night before.  The reasons can range from they are sleepy or have a headache to having sore eyes or can’t concentrate.

I cannot stress enough how important it is for all primary school aged children to get a good sleep routine established, so they wake up full of energy and ready to start a great day of learning at school.

When I ask these students what their bedtime routine is – I am floored by the number of students who say playing on their device until 10.30pm is part of their routine, and how many students have their devices in their bedrooms.  Please, devices should never be in their bedrooms and should always be put away on charge at least an hour before bed.

There have been a bazillion studies that show using a device before bed keeps you awake (both adults and children).  We simply cannot ignore these studies any longer. 

When it starts to affect your child’s ability to function at school – action needs to be taken. 

According to Raising Children – an Australian Parenting Website - Children aged between 5 – 11 years old need between 9 – 11 hours sleep at night. 

An example of a good bedtime routine for a child within this age group for a bedtime of 8pm would look like this;

• 6.45pm: put on pj’s brush teeth and go to the toilet
• 7.15pm: chat time with parents / caregivers about their day / activities
• 7.30pm: quiet time in the bedroom with a book and a bedtime story 
• 7.50pm: go to the toilet again if needed, goodnight and lights out

I strongly encourage all families to allow their child to unwind and relax after dinner.  Children need their down time.  A lot of children are over scheduled nowadays and find it difficult to process their day as they are not relaxing until quite late in the evening.

Let’s try to give our children the best start in life – giving them a good nights sleep is so important for their mental health, growth and development and their immune system.

Amanda Allan 

First Aid Officer / Library Tech