How a regular bedtime boosts a child’s well-being

CHILDREN with a regular bedtime sleep more soundly and do better in school, a study has found.

And parents who ban tablets and video games at night and read stories instead help boost their child’s literacy skills.

A bedtime routine also gives youngsters better teeth, the research found. The study, co-authored by Dr Julia Allan, a psychologist at Aberdeen University, noted ‘lower levels of anxiety, anger and fatigue being reported by parents with optimal bedtime routines’.

It adds that children with ‘a non-regular bedtime routine’ experience ‘more frequent behavioural difficulties’. The study states: ‘Children who read regularly with parents as part of their bedtime routine – or are read to by parents – show improvements in language, reading and literacy rates as well as better school readiness.’

Fifty parents with children between the ages of three and five were quizzed about night-time routines. Children in families with regular habits showed better performance in memory, attention and mental flexibility. The researchers said: ‘An optimal bedtime routine is associated with better dental health, cognitive function and school readiness.’

The study, in the BMC Public Health journal, advises parents to ‘minimise the use of electronic devices and TV’ at bedtimes in favour of reading.