For this edition of our LSC Corner I am going to talk about sleep and nutrition.

Children need a lot of sleep, a lot more than I realised!

The Ministry of Health recommends 9 -11 hours for school aged children.

Children learn while they are sleeping.  Their wee brains replay events from the day which helps to strengthen connections in the brain. We all function better when we are getting enough sleep.

Things that can help improve sleep are:

- A regular bedtime routine

- A comfortable sleeping environment with no distractions

- A healthy dinner, about 2 hours before bed

- Being active throughout the day

- Reading a book

- Mindfulness

Things that are detrimental to a child's sleep:

- device in their room

- use of a device in the hour leading up to bed

- caffeine

We often find learners are tired on Monday's and later in the week. It's important to remember that weekend sleep is just as important as school nights. I know as a parent it is easy to get quite relaxed about bedtime on the weekend, but this is detrimental for a child's wellbeing.  It is important that children are not up too late on Friday and Saturday nights.

There are a number of scholarly articles which highlight the importance of sleep and the effects that a lack of sleep can have on learning and academic achievement.

Nutrition is another important aspect of raising happy, healthy children. As you are aware we have a fruit /protein break at about 10am each day. This is sometimes referred to as Brain Food Break. It is time for children to refuel and it must be a healthy snack such as fruit (the preferred option) or protein, e.g. cheese or salami sticks. 

Your child's lunch box should have something in there to 'fill them up' at lunch time, for example sandwiches, sushi, wraps, left overs from dinner... I often walk around at lunch time and see some amazing lunches that make me think my poor kids get such boring lunches! 

Please be conscious of how many 'packets' your child has in their lunch box. A lot of research supports the argument that highly processed foods have a negative effect on children's behaviour. Treat foods are treat foods, everything in moderation my mum used to say!

Remember my door is always open, feel free to email me to arrange a meeting jeanette.neal@westmelton.school.nz