Picture credited to Learning In Motion a Montessori early learning center
By: Roxanne Edwards
Nappy Time: Most Relevant Activity Inside A Preschool Curriculum
1/27/2018- There is a reason all babies do is poop, eat and sleep; this is because these are the 3 critical processes for healthy development and growth, states pediatricians. Inside the uterus, babies are cocooned and nourished with such complexity that all they really do most of the time is rest says maternal specialists. This is why sleep is the single most important activity for infants and toddlers, and early educators should ensure preschoolers are getting sufficient nappy time to support a healthy learning environment, specialists have said.
If we think of all the things the brain has to process during activities, we can understand why putting aside a couple of hours for preschoolers to nap is important. As parents, guardians and educators, we want our kids to be happy, active, and healthy with a good balance of educational structures to cultivate the whole child. This is why understanding learning patterns is essential because the brain signals the body, telling it when it is time to rest, and resting helps to recharge the mind and body for healthy memory and continued learning, experts have said.
A study published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences found that infants demonstrated higher levels of learning and memory the day after being taught if they took a long nap right after the information was presented.
According to Parents.com, children who sleep fewer than ten hours a night before age 3 are three times more likely to have hyperactivity and impulsivity problems by age 6. For school-age kids, research has shown that adding as little as 27 minutes of extra sleep per night makes it easier for them to manage their moods and impulses so they can focus on schoolwork.
In addition to this, we have all heard lack of sleep in infants, toddlers and older kids leads to obesity, and guess what...this is true! Dr Wang's research suggests children with short sleep have low caloric intake expenditure. Sleep deprivation often leads to changes in the structure of sleep stage, states Bout Kids Health.com. Sleep loss also leads to changes in several hormones including leptin, ghrelin, insulin, cortisol, and growth hormone, shares the article presented by About Kids Health.com These hormonal changes may contribute to energy and lead to overweight or obesity, it further reveals.
Experts provided some much needed tips on what parents and educators can do to make sure their child is getting enough rest at home and during nappy time at school.
1. Set strict bedtimes rules. Put your child to bed early; a good 10-12 hours is necessary for younger kids says specialists.
2. Ensure your child is doing physical activity that is significant each day, this usually should be done right before mid-day nappy time, just enough to make them feel sleepy after lunch, as well as feel the need to go to bed early when they get home, maybe a few hours after dinner.
3. Avoid doing home work late at night, computers, phones, games and other gadgets.
4. Dim lights at bedtime and when waking up in the mornings
5.You may use soft music or instrumentals to soothe young children to bed.
6 Try massaging your child if he or she fights sleep. A combination of soft instrumentals(example rain forest music), coupled with a good back rub should do the trick.
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Roxanne is a writer, blogger and visual media host of kids and moms health, lifestyle, fashion and food features. You can contact her at: mommylifestylebyroxanneedwards@yahoo.com
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