Start setting alarms now, to get kids ready for back to school

LUBBOCK, Texas (KCBD) - With school starting next week, a lot of kids may be staying up late to celebrate these last few days of summer. However, a Lubbock pediatrician says it would be more helpful if parents would begin setting the alarm to get kids ready for that early wake up call.

Kinsey Powell is a mom with three kids in Lubbock-Cooper schools. She says bedtime has always been important in their house.

Her youngest daughter, Branum, likes to imitate her mom when she says, “It’s like, I don’t know why you’re staying up late. You need to go to bed!”

No doubt that’s hard to do in August, when it’s brighter outside than inside because the sun is still up.

Campbell, also 11, says “Usually in the summer i go to bed 10 or 11 and in the school year, have to go to be 8:30 or 9.”

But that’s good! There is real medical science to prove that better sleep is linked to better school performance.

Dr. Ana Montanez, a pediatrician and Texas Tech Physician, explains, “They’re awake, they’re paying attention, blood flow is getting to their brain, so they’re more alert, and they’re more active, learning is taking place.”

Dr. Montanez adds that a good night’s sleep is linked to behavior, too.

She says, “If a kid is trying to keep himself awake, especially you see this in school-aged kids, they’re going to be more hyper, trying to be doing things, very impulsive, because they’re trying to keep themselves awake.”

And we know now there is one more important reason to invest in the amount of sleep a child needs.

Dr. Montanez says especially now, coming out of a pandemic, sleep is good for a child’s mental health.

She says, “If they don’t have enough sleep, and they’re not rested, and they get disappointed at something or somebody makes them angry, it’s very difficult for them to cope and realize that that’s what’s happening. So mental health, it helps for that, too.”

For tips on getting kids into a new routine for the start of school, watch the video on this page.

Also, to understand the number of the hours needed for a good night’s rest in children and adults, the CDC has provided this chart.

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