Sleeping Tips for Children

Now that the clocks have been set back, it is a great time to focus on your child’s sleeping habits.

We all know how important a good night’s sleep is especially to growing children; quality sleep can help children to better focus on learning new skills and maintaining a stable mood.

Sleep experts suggest that primary school aged children should get 10 to 11 hours of sleep each night. According to a new study, twenty-seven minutes is how much extra sleep children this age need per night to be brighter and more productive the following day.1 Experts also say that pre-school aged children should sleep about 11 to 13 hours a night.

With help from BootsWebMD.com, you can find out more about helping your kids wake up bright-eyed and bushy-tailed the next day. Try some of these methods which may help you to look forward to silent nights this winter:

·         A good sleeping environment - Ideally the bedroom should be dark, quiet, comfortable and tidy to encourage relaxation.
·         Get the temperature right - Did you know there is an ideal temperature to encourage sleep? This should be neither too hot nor too cold – between 18 and 24°C is about right.
·         No more naps - Napping during the day may create difficulty in night-time sleeping.
·         Start the bedtime routine earlier – Telling young kids that bedtime is earlier is a hard sell so start getting them ready around 30 minutes earlier. This includes brushing teeth and reading a book to or with your child.
·         Identify and address key stressors - For example, additional homework, problems with friends, or a move to a new house or school, can all cause night-time anxiety.
·         Keep a sleep diary – If you are worried about your child’s sleep, starting a sleep diary can help you keep track of any challenges and will also help your GP should you seek medical advice.

You can also find a children’s sleep disorder guide, sleep slide shows and useful facts and information on healthy sleeping and developing positive bedtime routines on BootsWebMD.com.

Mother Instinct - Elephant Giving Birth

The video below is amazing, it shows real mothering instinct. The elephant mummy has a baby but when the baby drops on the floor and the sack bursts he is not breathing yet.

It is truly amazing what the mother does.

Please watch this video first before showing it to young children as it does contain graphic images of an elephant giving birth.

It is massively educational and I did watch this with my 7 and 4 year old but it is for you as a parent to decide if your children are old enough to watch it!



On another note, I can't believe people actually murder these beautiful animals for their tusks, they are clearly very smart and certainly smarter than some humans!

M x

Got teenage kids? Show them this...

We all know how much kids obsess over their looks, some girls actually go on to have serious health problems such as anorexia and boys have unrealistic expectations and that can lead to bullying and other demeaning behaviour towards girls.

The majority of victims here are girls BUT more and more boys suffer too.

The media presents unattainable images of models and actors but refrains from mentioning that they have been airbrushed, elongated, tucked in and even plumped up!

So yes, do promote healthy eating and exercise to your kids and teenagers... but do show them this so they can see what REALLY happens behind those photos of 'perfect' models.

Like this they can see what is natural & healthy VS so called perfect & fake!

M x

The 'Beauty' of Photoshop...