A person’s childhood is the key foundation for how their future life plays out. Their success as adults can be significantly influenced by how they were raised as children. The period in a human’s life when they experience the most significant growth is from early childhood to mid-teenage years (2-14).
Daily routines are very important for children’s growth. The Seattle Children’s Hospital Research team says, “When children have strong routines at home, they have an easier time in school with both learning and friendships. Kids who feel grounded in their home life can better regulate their emotions and cope with transitions.” Things like having breakfast, dinner, and morning routines at a certain time all help with children’s development in the early stages. Kids aren’t the only ones who benefit from routines like these; teenagers also require schedules to help improve their busy academic and personal lives, encouraging them to become self-sufficient and have success. Seattle Children’s Hospital also says, “Ultimately, a stable foundation equips tweens and teens for more responsibilities and greater independence.”
It’s common knowledge that children need good sleep, but how much does it truly affect them? Establishing good sleep patterns in children is a crucial part of ensuring they maintain proper routines. Sleep affects a child in more ways than a parent would expect. It affects their behavior, emotions, memory, problem-solving skills, appetite, mental health, and school performance. Their behavior can turn more aggressive, irritable, and hyper without appropriate sleep. Their sleep schedule is a large part of their daily routine, giving them a sense of time management and regulation at a young, developing age. According to Mayo Clinic, “Sleep is a crucial biological function. Loss of sleep is hypothesized to play a significant role in restoring and recovering the body systems, learning, memory consolidation, and healthy brain development. Sleep deprivation can lead to physical and behavioral symptoms that can be misdiagnosed as more severe mental and behavioral disorders.” For further guidance to ensure proper sleep for your child, Rossman School tells us that “Children 3 to 5 years old need 10-13 hours of sleep. Children 6 to 12 need 9-12 hours. Teens 13-18 need 8-10 hours.” Positive sleep schedules aren’t just about having a set bedtime, but also about having a consistent time to wake up.
Many parents have a screen time limit set for their children, but what is an appropriate amount of time for device use, and how can they protect them from the internet? The Healthy Children organization suggests that parents should consider the following for general guidelines to ensure child safety. That children under the age of 24 months should not use any technology unless for communication under parental control, and should still be extremely limited. Toddlers from 2-5 years are recommended to have access to under 1 hour of screen time, while doing engaging tasks that are healthy for their bodies and minds. Media should still be limited and ensure that your toddler is only interacting with educational, nonviolent, and brain-stimulating content. Young children over 5 years old may be able to have their own personal device as they grow up in a digital age. With more freedom, you should still watch over their devices and make sure they are being safe, that their media usage does not take over time set aside for sleep, family time, and exercise. Tweens and teens should have more freedom in the media they consume, and if they are trusted, they should have access to media without parental supervision.
To conclude, structure in a child’s life is very important to guide the child to success at a young age. It’s extremely important to guide your child to success by managing screen time, sleep schedule, and having a proper daily schedule. These are all essential factors in guiding a child to the right path throughout their lives. Professionals strongly recommend that parents make daily habits a main priority in consideration of their child’s future successes.
